South Korea unveils $880 billion megaplan to challenge US, China and Taiwan in AI chip dominance and global tech race

For years, South Korea’s economy has relied on advanced manufacturing, with semiconductors sitting at the centre of its global success. The country already produces many of the memory chips used in smartphones, computers and increasingly the servers powering artificial intelligence. Yet governments across Asia are now competing to attract even more investment into the same industry, encouraged by soaring demand for computing power and concerns over future technological leadership. Reportedly, against that backdrop, on Monday, Seoul President Lee Jae-myung has announced one of its most ambitious industrial strategies in recent memory.

The programme stretches far beyond building additional chip factories, reaching into AI infrastructure, robotics and regional development.