On 29 June, Korea’s government set out megaproject commitments approaching $1 trillion across semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers, which President Lee Jae-myung framed as the foundation for an AI-era growth model. Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong and SK’s Chey Tae-won joined senior ministers at the Blue House briefing as the government laid out investment targets and delivery timelines across all three tracks. With Korea’s potential growth rate having fallen from 3.4% in 2013 to 1.9% in 2025, the plan is pitched as building new growth rather than managing decline.

 

The southwest semiconductor cluster in Jeonnam-Gwangju anchors the package at roughly $520B, paired with a roughly $50B–$55B HBM/packaging hub in Chungcheong under a “3S+1F” strategy to defend Korea’s memory lead while expanding into foundry and AI chips. Physical AI plans center on robot-manufacturing and component bases around Saemangeum in Jeonbuk and Daegu-Gyeongnam, aiming to shift Korea from robot user to robot maker. AI data centers target roughly 8.4 GW of first-phase capacity, backed by roughly $350B–$370B in investment, with a longer roadmap to 18.4 GW by 2035. The southwest site has drawn the sharpest political pushback, with the PPP calling the plan interventionist and raising the prospect of a National Assembly inquiry, while initial market reaction underscored investor caution around the scale and execution of the pledges.

 

For detailed analysis of the investment breakdown and political risks, the full newsletter is available below.