The government and the Democratic Party of Korea on the 25th decided to create semiconductor special accounts in the 2027 budget plan and to throw full support behind the three mega projects and artificial intelligence (AI). Along with this, the party and government designated five key areas—expanding future growth engines, supporting youth, responding to polarization, and public safety—as priority investment sectors in next year's budget plan.
Right after the party-government consultation that day, Rep. Jeong Tae-ho, who serves as a secretary of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, met with reporters and said, "We will build an integrated support system to achieve the three mega projects and to become one of the top three AI powerhouses," adding, "To strengthen K-semiconductor competitiveness, we will create semiconductor special accounts."
Unlike the general account, which is used broadly for nationwide fiscal needs, the aim is to manage related funds separately through semiconductor special accounts and to build a fiscal base that can be concentrated on nurturing the semiconductor industry and supporting related projects.
The party and government will also invest in developing physical AI, while pushing for government equity injections into Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) to secure power and water. Funding to supply 10,000 CPUs (central processing units) for developing frontier-class AI models will also be reflected.
To expand future growth engines, investment will increase in the so-called "Next 10" strategic technology fields. Jeong said, "We will expand research and development (R&D) for a 2030 moon landing, broaden pilot projects for Autonomous Driving cars, allocate a record amount of subsidies for electric vehicles, and sharply increase corporate growth loan support for startups and venture corporations."
In youth support, a semester-long internship program for university students will be introduced, and a "Our Child Independence Fund" will be newly created to support up to 1.2 million won a year until age 18 to help young people build asset. Support for marriage and childbirth will shift from the existing tax credit-centered approach to subsidies and cash assistance, and the child allowance will be expanded and reorganized into a basic child allowance.
To address K-shaped polarization, the focus will be on growth led by the provinces and support for essential regional medical services. Jeong said, "We will introduce a growth engine special subsidy to support the transfer of anchor corporations to the provinces and their facility investments, as well as provincial future growth support funds." He added, "We will create special accounts for essential regional medical services to concentrate investment in local medical infrastructure and will also pursue full tuition support at regional national universities." In addition, the plan includes introducing a debt relief program for small business owners who took out policy loans during COVID-19 but still struggle to recover their business performance.
In public safety, items include support for developing nuclear-powered submarines, pay raises for junior military officers, and establishing a resource security fund to respond to supply chain crises.
The government plans to disclose the specific details and figures of the 2027 budget plan after the cabinet approves them.