The Korea Financial Investment Association said on Feb. 12 it welcomed the government's "private investment revitalisation plan" announced on Feb. 11.

In the plan, the government expanded private investment targets related to infrastructure funds from traditional social overhead capital such as roads and railways to new industry areas such as AI data centres and power grids.

It also includes the introduction of public subscription infrastructure funds for public participation to increase participation by ordinary citizens in private-sector projects previously centred on institutional investors, a shift it said marked a major change in the private investment paradigm.

The financial investment industry sees a foundation for revitalising public subscription infrastructure funds as having been laid through a recent expansion of borrowing limits and an extension of separate taxation for dividend income.

With additional measures added to broaden investment targets and the investor base, it is expected to further increase contributions to revitalising private-sector projects.

Hwan-tae Lee (이환태), head of the asset management division, said, "As artificial intelligence (AI) and energy are core infrastructure that determine national competitiveness, the role of infrastructure funds, a key funding source for private-sector projects, is becoming even more important." He added, "Using this plan as a turning point, we will secure growth momentum in infrastructure investment, expand opportunities for citizens to grow their assets and contribute to economic growth."