South Korea unveils a massive semiconductor and AI investment plan: it plans to invest 800 trillion won to build four chip plants and double its DRAM production capacity within five years.

The South Korean government today unveiled its latest industrial plan, with President Lee Jae-myung stating that South Korea must promptly advance the construction of chip production facilities, as existing industrial parks are approaching their carrying limits in terms of water resources and infrastructure. Going forward, the country will focus on expanding semiconductor supply capacity through investments in its southwestern region. Under the plan, South Korea plans to build four chip manufacturing plants in the southwestern region, with a total investment of about 800 trillion won, and aims to invest at least 30 trillion won in semiconductor fields including next-generation memory, edge AI, and defense over the next 15 years. Additionally, the chip packaging cluster in the Chungcheong region is projected to receive an investment of 81 trillion won, AI data center construction is expected to draw around 550 trillion won, new industrial projects in the southwestern region will see investments ranging from 5 trillion to 20 trillion won, and the overall project scale in Gwangju and Jeolla regions could reach up to 520 trillion won. The South Korean government also stated its goal of doubling DRAM production capacity within the next five years and increasing South Korea’s share of the global humanoid robot market. Officials project that the global memory chip market will grow approximately fourfold over the next five years. In reaction to the news, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) turned from negative to positive in the afternoon, after falling more than 3% at one point during the session.