South Korea  goes all in on AI with US$518b semiconductor push

SEOUL, June 29 — South Korea’s chip industry will see a record investment of more than half a trillion dollars as demand soars for the components that power artificial intelligence data centres, the government announced Monday.

The 800 trillion won (US$518 billion; RM2.11 trillion) project will comprise four chip fabrication plants in the comparatively under-developed southwest, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reporters.

The announcement made with representatives of Samsung, SK hynix and other electronics companies is in line with President Lee Jae Myung’s agenda for industrial development in regions outside the capital Seoul.

“First, we will develop the southwestern region into a second semiconductor production hub. We will construct four memory fabs through corporate investments totaling 800 trillion won,” Kim said at the presidential office.

The new investment is by far the largest since Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group announced plans in November to invest 450 trillion won (RM1.1 trillion) and 125 trillion won (RM33 billion), respectively, in South Korea over five years.

“AI data centres serve as the heart that powers artificial intelligence, and global investment in them is projected to reach approximately US$5.5 trillion (RM22.35 trillion) by 2030,” said a government statement.

“The government is providing support to ensure that such large-scale investment in AI infrastructure leads to the growth of the domestic AI data centre industry and strengthens the competitiveness of its ecosystem.” — AFP