Economy / Markets
South Korea doubles its chip and AI bet inside a record budget
President Lee Jae-myung told the National Assembly that 2027 spending will rise 12.8% to 820.9 trillion won, the largest budget on record, with 21.3 trillion won, nearly double this year's figure, going to semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centres. A separate 4.6 trillion won is earmarked for a sovereign frontier model and 13.8 trillion won for ten strategic technologies. Parliament, where his party holds a majority, still has to pass the bill.