South Korea will invest nearly $1.2 trillion — equivalent to more than two-thirds of its GDP — in a new chip-building hub and AI data centres over several years, announced on 29/06/2026. President Lee Jae Myung stated, "Speed is the only path to survival. We must secure the core elements of artificial intelligence faster than any other nation." Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will make a record investment of 800 trillion won (around $520 billion) in a new semiconductor fabrication hub in the country's southwest, comprising four fabrication plants with each company building two plants. The government also announced a separate investment of a quadrillion won (around $650 billion) in AI data centres over the next 10 years. Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said the country will invest 550 trillion won on AI data centres by 2029, adding that "by 2035, an additional 10-gigawatt AI data centre will be built, with a total investment exceeding 18.4 gigawatts and 1,000 trillion won." Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said permit approvals and construction timelines will be dramatically shortened to rapidly expand production capacity. The southwestern region of Honam has long lagged behind the more industrialised southeast.