Director General Son Young-chae of the Financial Services Commission's Public Growth Fund Promotion Team said on the 13th, "The Public Growth Fund is an economic growth strategy fund created by the Lee Jae-myung administration," and "We are pushing it forward with a sense of urgency that it will serve as a priming water to support Korea's industries over the next 20 years."
Director General Son stated accordingly while giving a lecture on the theme "The priming water for Korea's great economic leap, the Public Growth Fund" at the "2026 Future Finance Forum," hosted by ChosunBiz at the Westin Josun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on this day.
The Public Growth Fund is a 150 trillion won government policy fund created to secure future growth engines, aiming to foster advanced strategic industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and biotech.
Director General Son noted that while Korea's AI technology level is quite high, there are issues of talent outflow and insufficient private investment. According to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Korea's global AI competitiveness ranks sixth, and the number of "noteworthy AI models" ranks third in the world. However, the scale of private AI investment is only 12th globally.
Accordingly, the Public Growth Fund is making large-scale investments in AI corporations. As of January–April this year, about 8.4 trillion won in funding was supplied. Notably, it injected funds into AI Semiconductor startup Rebellions for next-generation AI Semiconductor development and mass production, and supported Upstage with funding for next-generation AI model development.
Director General Son explained that the global competition for technological hegemony was the direct backdrop for the launch of the Public Growth Fund. "Since COVID-19, the United States has been providing large-scale subsidies and tax benefits to AI and semiconductor corporations through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS Act," he said. "Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany are also jumping into the technology investment war. Korea is also in its golden time now, and there is a sense of urgency that we must not miss this window."
He added, "The Public Growth Fund is still in its early stage, but we will do our best so it serves as a platform for a great leap in Korea's economy," and "We will keep explaining to and communicating with the market and the public as we improve the system."
Director General Son said, "Large corporations are important, but cultivating new players is the second key goal," adding, "We are operating with a strategy that promotes the development of regional industries as well as the Seoul metropolitan area."
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) will begin sales of the "public participation-type Public Growth Fund," totaling 600 billion won, to the general public starting on the 22nd. For a portion of the investment, the government will bear losses as a subordinate tranche and also provide income tax deductions and separate taxation benefits.