The government has designated artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, physical AI, and next-generation semiconductors as national flagship projects and will support large-scale private investment. It will unveil a domestic AI service that anyone can use for free within the year and accelerate development of future strategic technologies such as quantum computers, small modular reactors (SMRs), and space launch vehicles.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea AeroSpace Administration on the 16th announced their plan for the second half of 2026 at a briefing at the Blue House State Guest House chaired by the president. They reviewed the progress of policies prepared at the end of last year and decided to concentrate policy capacity in the second half on delivering results in AI and science and technology that the public and corporations can feel.
◇ Support for 550 trillion won in AI data center investment… bid for No. 1 in the world in physical AI
The first area the government will accelerate is AI infrastructure. Private investment totaling 550 trillion won is planned for construction of gigawatt-scale hyperscale AI data centers promoted by SK, GS, Naver, and others. The government will operate a pan-ministerial task force, a public-private consultative body, and a dedicated support team to remove bottlenecks in the project process, including securing power and sites and obtaining permits.
Starting next year, it will support localization of core data center equipment and solutions, including servers, power facilities, and cooling systems. The plan is to grow the related industrial ecosystem by linking workforce development, testing facilities, finance, and export support around data centers.
In the field of physical AI, the goal presented is to secure world-class competitiveness by 2030. It will begin developing an independent world model that massively generates data reflecting the movement of real objects and the laws of physics, and within three years will build a physical AI foundation model. The technologies developed will be applied to manufacturing, defense, care, and agriculture to foster them into export industries.
For AI Semiconductor, it will build a full-package ecosystem that does not stop at chip development but connects networks, software, and services with domestic technology. In the second half, it will also begin preliminary planning for ultra-fine 1-nanometer-class devices and next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) development.
◇ Free domestic AI chatbot to launch… next year "one AI agent per person"
Policies will also be pursued to spread AI not as technology only for some corporations and experts but as basic infrastructure of daily life. The government plans to release for free within the year a general-purpose chatbot service based on a domestic AI model. It will minimize usage limits and include features that not only find youth subsidies or welfare benefits but also support the application process.
Next year, this will be advanced into an AI agent that handles tasks for individuals, establishing an environment of "one AI agent per person." In the second half, it will secure an independent AI model ranked around the global top 10, and then concentrate support on GPUs, data, and talent to take on top-tier global models.
AI education will be expanded to 5.14 million people by year's end. Public AI services closely tied to daily life, such as agricultural and livestock product price comparisons, national tax consultations, and national heritage explanations, will be launched sequentially. For infrastructure closely related to the public's daily life, including telecommunications and platforms, it will conduct security vulnerability checks using AI.
◇ Fostering quantum, SMR, and nuclear fusion… turning research failures into an "asset"
The government will also kick off the "K-moonshot" project to integrate AI with strategic technologies such as quantum, new drugs, bio, and energy. It will secure a domestic 50-qubit quantum computer within the year and pursue development of a 100-qubit error-correcting quantum computer by 2029.
It will also build infrastructure to rapidly verify AI-designed drug candidates at robotic laboratory facilities. For brain-computer interfaces (BCI), which control computers with brain signals, research will begin with the goal of demonstrating a product for patients with quadriplegia by 2030.
To prepare for increasing power demand, it will also expand development of SMR and nuclear fusion technologies. Next year, it will start a project to build a nuclear-powered vessel equipped with an SMR, and it will pursue development of a demonstration reactor targeting nuclear fusion power generation in the 2030s.
The research and development system will change to enhance researchers' willingness to take on challenges. Even if goals are not met, if the research process and outcomes are strong, it will introduce a system to turn failure into an asset by supporting follow-up research. For areas where private investment is difficult, it will also pursue investment-oriented R&D in which the government shares risk and reinvests revenue upon success.
◇ Fifth launch of Nuri… fostering 1,200 space companies by 2035
In the aerospace field, it set a goal of increasing domestic corporations to 1,200 by 2035 and achieving a 3% share of the global market. In the second half, it will push for the fifth launch of Nuri carrying 15 satellites, including very small cluster satellites, and move to develop reusable launch vehicles that will sharply reduce launch costs and to select a site for the second space center.
In 2029, it plans to launch a lunar orbit communications satellite, and in 2030, a small lunar lander. By 2035, it will build a Korea-style low Earth orbit satellite communications network to strengthen communications sovereignty and space security capabilities.
It will also create a southern coastal aerospace belt linking Jinju, Changwon, Suncheon, and Goheung with Sacheon at the center. The government's policy is to make AI, semiconductors, and aerospace technologies the core pillars of national growth and to connect policies to investment and jobs in the industrial field and to changes in the public's daily life.