South Korea will foster semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centres as national growth engines based on large private-sector investment by companies including Samsung Electronics and SK. President Lee Jae-myung chaired a public briefing on three megaprojects and said he would directly oversee execution. Plans include accelerating chip plant construction, building regional production hubs, developing humanoid robots and foundation models, expanding AI data-centre capacity, and launching a manufacturing AI strategy with joint public-private investment.

A special act to systematically support South Korea’s entire semiconductor supply chain passed a plenary session of the National Assembly on Jan. 29. The legislation provides an institutional basis covering memory and system chips as well as design, manufacturing, packaging and materials, parts and equipment. It creates a presidential committee, a basic plan and a special account. It also promotes support for non-capital regions, cluster development, R&D facilities, talent programmes and regulatory exemptions. Implementation could begin as early as the third quarter.