rolled out sweeping chip and AI megaprojects on Monday, as President
Lee Jae Myungpledged to cement overwhelming industry leadership with investments worth more than US$576 billion over several years.
The announcement marks Lee’s boldest push yet to align South Korea’s
AIand chip ambitions with his pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.
Lee was joined by the leaders of
Samsung Electronicsand SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, for the televised announcement.
“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” the president said. “Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centres are the triple axis for our great leap forward.”
We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,
Samsung and SK Hynix will invest 800 trillion won (US$518 billion) with suppliers to build two new chip fabrication sites each in South Korea’s southwest region, he said.