Seoul is launching an unprecedented investment plan to strengthen its place in semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
The South Korean government on Monday unveiled a colossal plan, equivalent to more than 1,000 billion euros in total over ten years, to build semiconductor factories and data centers for artificial intelligence (AI). This investment program aims to strengthen South Korea’s position in the global semiconductor market, a strategic and competitive sector.
A first project, worth 800,000 billion won (455 billion euros), will include four semiconductor factories, including two built by the giant Samsung Electronics and the other two by its competitor SK hynix, and other infrastructure, declared the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Kim Jung-kwan. The project includes the construction of four manufacturing plants as well as data centers, most of them in the southwest of the country.
Another project, worth a total of one million billion won (568 billion euros), aims to build new data centers dedicated to AI by 2035 to bring the country’s total capacity to 18.4 gigawatts, Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon announced during the same press conference.
An unprecedented investment
This is the third AI mega-investment announced in South Korea in less than a year, and by far the largest. It far exceeds the 450 trillion won promised by Samsung and the 125 trillion won announced by Hyundai Motor by the end of 2025.
“Through this, we will maintain an overwhelming market leadership position and decisive technological advantage in the memory semiconductor industry,” Kim Jung-kwan said.
South Korea is one of the world’s leading semiconductor producers, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix among the industry leaders. Through this massive investment plan, Seoul intends to support its industrial champions and anticipate developments in the global market, marked by the rise of artificial intelligence and the growing demand for computing and storage capacities.
