South Korea’s government reportedly unveiled a fund worth KRW150 trillion ($108 billion) to invest in AI, semiconductors and other technology-related initiatives, as it seeks to keep pace with the US and China.
The Korea Herald reported the nation’s President Lee Jae Myung revealed the fund at an event hosted in Seoul today (10 September), with the investment earmarked to be spread over the next five years.
The government hopes the investment, which will be used to grow the country’s AI, semiconductors, biotechnology, defence, robotics and green mobility sectors, will create up to KRW125 trillion worth of added value to South Korea’s economy.
Apparently, Lee did not pull any punches in expressing the importance of investment in technology, stating South Korea was “engaged in a war without gun smoke”.
“Major countries like the United States and China are ramping up their state support to strategic industries backed by cutting-edge technologies,” he said.
Around KRW75 trillion of the total sum will be generated from state-run lender Korea Development Bank, which will partner with government ministries to determine where exactly to invest.
The remainder will come from contributions from South Korean pension funds, financial institutions and citizens, the newspaper reported.
Businesses involved in large-scale infrastructure such as AI expressways and data centres, display panels, defence equipment and semiconductor chips are all likely to benefit from the fund, the government added.