South Korea announces large-scale project plans for chips and artificial intelligence data centers

The South Korean government has announced significant project plans in the areas of chips, physical artificial intelligence, and artificial intelligence data centers. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung stated that it is necessary to ensure the development of artificial intelligence elements faster than other countries, and chip production construction must be completed as soon as possible.

The current factory site selection is nearing its limits in terms of water resources and other infrastructure. The southwestern region will invest between 50 trillion to 200 trillion won in the new projects, while Gwangju and Jeolla may invest 52 trillion won in the projects. Regarding the detailed planning for the factories, the South Korean government announced that it is expected to build four chip factories in the southwest, with an investment of about 800 trillion won; Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will each build two new factories; it is expected that investment in the chip sector will reach at least 300 trillion won over the next 15 years, including next-generation memory, edge artificial intelligence, and defense.

Investment in the chip packaging cluster in the Chungcheong region is expected to reach 81 trillion won. It is anticipated that approximately 55 trillion won will be invested in the construction of artificial intelligence data centers. The South Korean government expects to double DRAM production capacity within five years, and the global memory market is expected to quadruple in five years. The South Korean side also stated that it seeks to distribute the growth dividends to the public.