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South Korea to unveil 'unfamiliar' record investment in semiconductors, AI
🇰🇷 South Korea /Economy & Trade

South Korea to unveil 'unfamiliar' record investment in semiconductors, AI

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • South Korean Presidential Office Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom announced a major investment initiative, the "Grand Leap 3 Mega Projects," involving government and corporate efforts.
  • The initiative focuses on three key areas: semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI, with expected "unfamiliar numbers" indicating a record-breaking investment scale.
  • The announcement comes ahead of a public report session on June 29, with President Lee Jae-myung and major business leaders like Samsung's Lee Jae-yong and SK's Chey Tae-won having held recent discussions.

South Korea is poised to unveil a massive investment plan, dubbed the "Grand Leap 3 Mega Projects," aimed at securing future growth engines for the nation. Presidential Office Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom hinted at an unprecedented scale of investment, stating that the figures involved would be "unfamiliar." The initiative, a collaboration between the government and private enterprises, will be formally presented at a public report session on June 29, presided over by President Lee Jae-myung.

The numbers will be very unfamiliar.

— Kim Yong-beomDescribing the scale of the upcoming 'Grand Leap 3 Mega Projects' investment.

Kim explained that the projects will concentrate on three core sectors: semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, and physical AI, including robotics. He anticipates that the sheer magnitude of the investment will spark debate, with some questioning its feasibility. "The numbers will be very unfamiliar," Kim said during an appearance on the YouTube channel 'Kim Osung's Humility is Hard News Factory,' emphasizing the program's scope.

Addressing potential criticism that the government might be pressuring companies, Kim stressed that the participating entities are "world's top one and two companies," not those easily coerced. This statement aims to preemptively counter concerns about forced corporate participation, often referred to as 'twisting arms.' The plan includes building a second semiconductor cluster in the Honam region, in addition to the existing Yongin cluster, signaling a strategic push for industrial expansion.

The three areas are semiconductors, building artificial intelligence (AI) data centers on a very large gigawatt scale, and physical AI/robotics.

— Kim Yong-beomDetailing the focus sectors of the new initiative.

President Lee Jae-myung has been actively engaging with industry leaders in the lead-up to the announcement. Recent meetings with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won suggest discussions focused on new semiconductor investment plans, particularly concerning the development of the Honam semiconductor cluster. These high-level discussions underscore the government's commitment to fostering collaboration and securing buy-in for the ambitious mega-projects.

The participating entities are world's top one and two companies. They are not companies that are squeezed.

— Kim Yong-beomAddressing concerns about potential government pressure on corporations.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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