Gov't, Korea Inc. to invest $520B to build chip plants, $360B in data centers in regional growth push

The government and major chip companies will pour massive investment into regional chip plants, AI data centers and robotics as part of President Lee Jae Myung's development initiative.

SARAH CHEA
Published Modified
The logos of Samsung Electronics, left, and SK hynix, whose record earnings have fueled intense debate in Korea over how to manage the extraordinary wealth generated by the semiconductor supercycle

The government and Korea Inc. will invest 800 trillion won ($520 billion) in four new chip facilities in the southwest region, along with 550 trillion won to develop three AI data centers as the country seeks to entrench its leadership in the AI era.

The unprecedented investment package comes with the rising global clout of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in the global AI scene, as well as President Lee Jae Myung's pledge to revitalize regional economies. The plan was unveiled at a meeting hosted by Lee on the government's three megaprojects at the Blue House on Monday, attended by Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

An additional 81 trillion won will be invested in the Chungcheong regions in high bandwidth memory (HBM) fabrication facilities in Onyang and Cheonan, both in South Chungcheong, as well as expanded HBM packaging operations in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, to ensure the projects remain on schedule.

Another 30 trillion won will be injected to continue developing emerging chips such as next-generation memory, edge AI chips such as on-device and on-sensor semiconductors and defense semiconductors, which have strong growth potential. 

The government will also partner with SK, GS and Naver to build data centers with a total capacity of  8.4 gigawatts — 5 gigawatts for SK, 2.4 gigawatts for GS and 1 gigawatt for Naver. SK's data center capacity will be expanded to 15 gigawatts by 2035, which will lift the country's total capacity to 18.4 gigawatts.

More than 1,000 AI robots will be deployed in the manufacturing sector every year, with the aim of leading the physical AI race. To take on China's progress in humanoid robotics, Korea will fast-track a mass-production ecosystem for robots.

Hyundai Motor has already pledged 9 trillion won to build the country's first dedicated robot manufacturing complex in Saemangeum, North Jeolla.


BY SARAH CHEA   [[email protected]]


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