South Korea's Lee vows to make bold AI investment in record budget push
His administration proposed in September increasing government spending by a record 12.8% next year to 820.9 trillion won ($615.62 billion) aiming to strengthen South Korea's technological edge as global competition over AI intensifies.
SynopsisHis administration proposed in September increasing government spending by a record 12.8% next year to 820.9 trillion won ($615.62 billion) aiming to strengthen South Korea's technological edge as global competition over AI intensifies.Listen to this article in summarized formatReutersSouth Korean President Lee Jae Myung (Photo: Reuters).South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Monday to make bold investments in artificial intelligence to boost the country's economic growth potential, in an address to parliament seeking approval for next year's budget."We will invest 21.3 trillion won ($15.97 billion), nearly twice this year's amount, in AI and the three megaprojects of semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centres," Lee said.His administration proposed in September increasing government spending by a record 12.8% next year to 820.9 trillion won ($615.62 billion) aiming to strengthen South Korea's technological edge as global competition over AI intensifies.South Korea's economy has been heavily boosted by demand for advanced chips used in AI, lifting exports and the earnings of memory chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.Asia's fourth-largest economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter on chip exports and investment.
