South Korea announces major projects plan for chips and AI data centers

Odaily Planet Daily News The South Korean government announced on Monday major project plans in the fields of chips, physical AI, and AI data centers. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung stated that there is a need to secure the development of AI elements faster than other countries and that chip production construction must be completed as soon as possible. Current factory sites are nearing their limits in terms of water resources and other infrastructure. The southwestern region will invest 5 trillion to 20 trillion Korean won in new projects, and Gwangju and Jeolla may invest 520 trillion Korean won in the projects.

Regarding detailed plans for factory construction, the South Korean government announced that it plans to build four chip factories in the southwestern region, with an investment of approximately 800 trillion Korean won. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will each build two new factories. It is expected that investment in the chip sector over the next 15 years will reach at least 30 trillion Korean won, covering areas such as next-generation memory, edge artificial intelligence, and national defense. The investment in the chip packaging cluster in the Chungcheong region is expected to reach 81 trillion Korean won. Investment in building AI data centers is estimated to be around 550 trillion Korean won.

The South Korean government expects to double DRAM production capacity within five years and anticipates the global memory market will grow fourfold in five years. South Korea also stated that it seeks to distribute the growth dividends to the public. (Jin Shi)