South Korea is set to triple its investment in artificial intelligence, focusing on infrastructure development and wider technology adoption, President Lee Jae Myung announced on Tuesday during his annual parliamentary budget speech.
President Lee revealed that 10.1 trillion won (around 7 billion dollars) would be allocated for “a major transformation aimed at propelling South Korea into the ranks of the world’s top three AI powers” alongside the United States and China.
“We will significantly expand investment to usher in the ‘AI era’,” Lee stated, emphasising that the amount represents more than three times the current year’s AI budget.
The announcement was part of his government’s overall budget plan for 2026, which totals 728 trillion won, marking an 8.1 percent increase from the previous year. The proposal is expected to pass smoothly, given that Lee’s party holds a parliamentary majority.
South Korea hosts two of the world’s leading memory chip manufacturers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. These companies produce chips crucial for powering AI systems and the data centres that support them. Both tech giants have recently entered preliminary agreements with ChatGPT developer OpenAI to supply chips and related equipment for its Stargate AI infrastructure project.
According to Lee, 2.6 trillion won from next year’s AI budget will be directed towards integrating AI across industries, daily life, and public services, while 7.5 trillion won will focus on developing skilled talent and building AI infrastructure.
Jensen Huang, CEO of US chipmaker Nvidia, recently announced plans to supply 260,000 of its most advanced chips to South Korea. Following the announcement, Huang described the target as “ambitious” but added, “there’s no reason why South Korea cannot achieve it — you have the technology, you have the software expertise and you also have a natural ability to build manufacturing plants.”
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