Lee Jae Myung teams up with Samsung and SK Hynix to build South Korea’s AI ecosystem.
JAKARTA – South Korea is accelerating its ambition to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors through the launch of several large-scale strategic projects expected to attract investments of more than 1,000 trillion won over the next few years.
According to Reuters, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung unveiled the national initiative on Monday (29/6) alongside executives from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chip manufacturers.
The initiative marks the Lee administration’s biggest industrial agenda, aimed at strengthening the country’s technological competitiveness while promoting economic growth beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.
“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” Lee said during a nationally televised announcement. “Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centres are the three main pillars of our next great leap forward.”
The programme includes the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing cluster, AI data centres, and the development of an AI-driven industrial ecosystem that will serve as the foundation for South Korea’s long-term technological transformation.
As part of the project, the city of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province in the country’s south-west will host the new semiconductor cluster.
Local governments have also committed investments of between 5 trillion won and 20 trillion won to support the development of the industrial complex.
Lee said the south-western region was selected because it has significant electricity generation capacity that remains underutilised, making it an ideal location for semiconductor manufacturing facilities and AI data centres, both of which require substantial amounts of energy.
Local media reported that total investment from the government and the private sector, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, could exceed 1,000 trillion won, or around US$651 billion, over the coming years. (DH/LM)
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