South Korea's Science Minister Yoo Sang-im announced massive investment plans during a presentation attended by President Lee Jae-myung.
According to the minister, having a large volume of data is crucial for South Korea to take a leading position in the global race for physical artificial intelligence.
"The next three years will be a golden time to become a leader in physical AI. The government will lead the physical AI sector by designating it as a national strategic industry," said Yoo Sang-im.
Under the plan, initial investments of 550 trillion won will be directed toward building AI data centers with a capacity of 8.4 gigawatts (GW) by 2029. The ministry will gradually expand the infrastructure by 10 GW until 2035.
Lee Jae-myung stated that South Korea is at a crossroads leading to a big leap forward amid growing competition in the semiconductor and AI sectors.
During the presentation, it was noted that major chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Group announced an unprecedented investment plan of 800 trillion won ($519 billion). Samsung and SK Hynix will each build two large chip factories in the southwest of the country. Additionally, up to 81 trillion won will be allocated by authorities to create a semiconductor packaging cluster near Seoul.