South Korea announces AI investments worth $880bn

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South Korea has announced an $880bn plan to build more data centres and chip manufacturing facilities. Samsung and SK Group have committed most of the money, while the government will also build plants outside of Seoul’s metropolitan area, where most industry is concentrated. The investments are aimed at shoring up South Korea’s leading position in the AI transition. It is also the country’s version of levelling up. South Korea, as the producer of more than 60% of the world’s semiconductors, is booming off the back of AI. In 2025 these exports were worth $173bn, a figure that is predicted to double this year, and it still cannot meet demand. But South Korea is also acutely vulnerable to the threat of a bubble. A brief wobble last week caused its main stock market to fall by 10%.