SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - South Korea has unveiled mega plans to enhance the country's chip manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities thruogh corporate investments.
Under the plan announced by President Lee Jae-myung on Monday, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will develop a semiconductor manufacturing hub in the country's southwestern region.
South Korea's two largest chipmakers will construct four memory chip fabrication plants in Gwangju and Jeolla.
They join the ranks of US tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta who have announced plans to invest $650 billion into the AI chip technology.
The top executives of Samsung and SK Hynix and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan joined a national investment briefing chaired by President Lee Jae Myung.
'We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country. Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centres are the triple axis for a great leap forward,' Lee said in a televised event.
Samsung and SK Hynix will invest 800 trillion won ($517.87 billion) as part of South Korea's so-called 'Three Mega Projects', in which the city of Gwangju and South Jeolla province also will collaborate, according to Lee.
'Relying on a single production base in the Seoul metropolitan area is no longer sufficient to meet surging semiconductor demand,' said Industry Minister Kim.
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