South Korea sets out decade-long AI and chip investment plan

Lee presented semiconductors, physical AI and data centers as the plan’s three pillars.[3] The investment is described as a public-private program, rather than a single government spending appropriation.[2] That distinction matters for organizations assessing where public commitments end and private investment begins. The reported overall totals are not consistent across accounts: Crypto Briefing gives approximately $880 billion to $900 billion, or around 1,350 trillion won, over the next decade, while Yonhap reports 800 trillion won, or $517.9 billion.[1][4]

The Yonhap account says the investments will create four memory-chip fabrication plants, and describes plans for a second major semiconductor cluster in Gwangju and Jeolla alongside the Seoul-area hub.[4] The government also plans an advanced packaging hub in Chungcheong, with 81 trillion won allocated, and a 30 trillion won, 15-year effort supporting the semiconductor value chain.[4] Officials agreed to build the Honam semiconductor industrial complex on the Gwangju military-airport site, which could provide about 2.5 million pyeong.[5] The government says it will streamline permits and provide electricity and industrial water.[4]

The data-center plan calls for about 550 trillion won in investment and 8.4 gigawatts of combined capacity by 2029.[4] Total investment is expected to exceed 1,000 trillion won by 2035, when capacity is projected to reach 18.4 gigawatts.[4] The plan involves working with SK Group, GS Group and Naver.[4] For physical AI, the government aims to raise South Korea’s share of the global humanoid-robot market from 1% to 20% over the long term.[4] The roadmap also calls for training 10,000 AI-robot specialists over five years and deploying at least 1,000 industry-specific AI robots annually.[2]

The government said it would advance new-fab construction schedules by as much as 12 years, moving planned timelines from the mid-to-late 2040s to the mid-2030s.[4] Officials agreed to accelerate schedules for 10 planned fab investments, including land compensation and power and water supply.[5] Lee is to chair monthly public-private review meetings, and officials agreed to appoint a prominent person to oversee progress and coordinate disagreements between ministries.[5] Reuters reported analysts’ warnings that accelerating capital spending could raise the risk of longer-term oversupply, and that some elements may not scale quickly enough in a new region to meet surging AI demand.[6][3] Samsung and SK Hynix shares closed down 4.86% and 1.68%, respectively, on Monday amid supply-glut warnings.[3]