South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday vowed a large South Korea AI investment push to lift the country’s long-term growth potential, asking parliament to approve next year’s budget. He said Seoul would spend 21.3 trillion won ($15.97 billion)—almost double this year’s allocation—on artificial intelligence and three megaprojects: semiconductors, physical AI (AI applied to machines and real-world systems) and AI data centres.
Record budget and the AI megaprojects
In September, his administration proposed raising government spending by a record 12.8% to 820.9 trillion won ($615.62 billion). Officials framed the plan as a way to keep South Korea’s technology edge as countries race over AI. The South Korea AI investment package sits inside that wider budget request and is meant to back the same three megaproject tracks Lee is pursuing nationwide.
Alongside public spending, Lee is backing an 800 trillion won private-sector chip buildout in the country’s southwest, led by memory makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The budget also creates a 162.3 trillion won Future Response Fund, financed largely by extra tax revenue from the semiconductor boom. Lee said the fund would support growth industries, young people, regional development and education, and act as a cushion if revenues fall later.
Chips, exports and uneven gains
Demand for advanced chips used in AI has already lifted South Korea’s exports and the earnings of Samsung and SK Hynix. Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter on chip shipments and investment. From January to October, exports totalled $930 billion, putting the country on course to pass $1 trillion this year—which would make it only the fourth nation after the United States, China and Germany to hit that mark.
Lee said annual exports of $1 trillion were now within reach, but he warned that the gains were not shared evenly. “We must make a great transition from ‘growth for the few,’ in which opportunities and gains are concentrated among certain regions, classes and a small number of companies, to ‘growth for all,’” he told lawmakers.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- September: The administration proposed a record 12.8% increase in next year’s government spending, to 820.9 trillion won ($615.62 billion).
- Third quarter: The economy grew faster than expected, helped by chip exports and investment.
- January–October: Merchandise exports reached $930 billion, on track to exceed $1 trillion for the full year.
- Monday: Lee addressed parliament, pledging 21.3 trillion won for AI and related megaprojects while seeking budget approval.
Aasan alfaaz mein
South Korea ke President Lee Jae Myung ne parliament se agle saal ke budget ke liye bold AI spending maangi hai. Sarkar AI, chips, physical AI aur data centres par lagbhag 21.3 trillion won ($15.97 billion) lagane wali hai—is saal se nearly double. Chip boom se exports $1 trillion ke qareeb hain, lekin Lee kehte hain faida abhi har region aur class tak barabar nahi pahuncha. Pakistani readers ke liye yeh is liye zaroori hai ke yehi chips aksar phones, laptops aur servers mein use hoti hain jo global prices aur supply ko shape karti hain.
