South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has unveiled plans for a massive 9.4 trillion won ($6.94 billion) investment in artificial intelligence by 2027, signalling a strengthening of the nation’s position in cutting-edge semiconductor chips.
This initiative includes a separate 1.4 trillion won fund dedicated to nurturing AI semiconductor firms as South Korea moves to keep pace with global rivals like the United States, China, and Japan, all of whom are developing and strengthening their semiconductor supply chains.
Semiconductors are the backbone of South Korea’s export-driven economy, with chip exports surging to a 21-month high of $11.7 billion in March, comprising nearly a fifth of the nation’s total exports.
“Current competition in semiconductors is an industrial war and an all-out war between nations,” Yoon told a meeting of policymakers and chip industry executives on Tuesday.
The investment strategy requires a significant expansion of research and development in AI chips, particularly artificial neural processing units (NPUs) and next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips.
Moreover, South Korean authorities are committed to fostering the development of next-generation artificial general intelligence (AGI) and safety technologies.
President Yoon outlined ambitious goals for South Korea, aiming to rank among the top three countries in AI technology, including chips, and capture a 10 percent share or more of the global system semiconductor market by 2030.
“Just as we have dominated the world with memory chips for the past 30 years, we will write a new semiconductor myth with AI chips in the next 30 years,” Yoon said.
(with inputs from agencies)
