South Korea plans to inject up to 1 trillion won into its sovereign wealth fund for strategic industries including AI next year.

Gyeong-seol Min, head of the Innovation Growth Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated that South Korea plans to allocate between 600 billion won (approximately $424 million) and 1 trillion won (around $707 million) in new funds next year to a new sovereign wealth fund targeting strategic industries such as AI. The final investment amount could exceed initial expectations, depending on the specific targets selected and their funding requirements. Min added that there are currently no plans for the fund to make direct investments in Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix. In July this year, the South Korean government announced it would establish a new "Strategic Industry Investment Account" under the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), with initial funding of at least 20 trillion won (approximately 94 billion yuan). The fund’s investment scope includes AI, semiconductors, data centers, core overseas supply chain enterprises, and other related sectors. The government plans to officially launch and operate the "Korea-style sovereign wealth fund" next year, which will also target infrastructure such as robotics, energy, batteries, and power grids. Nuclear energy, space, and quantum technologies are also under consideration for inclusion.