This move is Lee’s boldest yet to align the nation’s tech ambitions with his pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies
2-MIN READ2-MINReutersPublished: 2:09pm, 29 Jun 2026South Korea rolled out sweeping chip and AI megaprojects on Monday, as President Lee Jae Myung pledged to cement overwhelming industry leadership with investments spanning hundreds of billions of dollars over several years.The announcement marks Lee’s boldest push yet to align South Korea’s AI and chip ambitions with his pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.Lee was joined by the leaders of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, for the televised announcement.“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” the president said. “Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centres are the triple axis for our great leap forward.”
We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,President Lee Jae MyungThe projects are expected to attract investments including by Samsung and SK over the next several years. Lee said the country’s southwestern city of Gwangju and South Jeolla province would also invest 520 trillion won (US$337 billion) in the projects.
