South Korea targets 'world's highest performance' sovereign AI model in record new budget
The 2027 budget will rise 12.8% to 820.9 trillion won, and will include a 21.3 trillion won investment into semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers.
TL;DR
- South Korea's 2027 budget totals 820.9 trillion won, a 12.8% increase.
- 21.3 trillion won allocated to semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers, nearly doubling the 2026 level.
- 4.7 trillion won designated for developing a sovereign AI model with high performance.
- Investment in talent includes training 2,000 semiconductor specialists and expanding AI education.
- University contract departments established for company-linked degrees in semiconductor fields.
- Defense expenditure to increase by 8.2% to 73.3 trillion won, focusing on AI-driven hybrid systems.
- South Korea's economy projected to grow 3.3% in 2026, driven by semiconductor exports.
- Record semiconductor exports reached $115.3 billion in October.
- The budget aims for virtually no net increase in government debt.