Budgets for the three mega projects—semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI), and AI data centers (AIDC)—and for AI development next year are set at 2.13 trillion won. That is up 97% from this year's related budget of 1.08 trillion won. In particular, 150 billion won will be invested solely to support the SuNAM-region semiconductor cluster.
The government announced the 2027 budget bill with these details at a Cabinet meeting on the 1st.
◇ Investing 340 billion won to double semiconductor production capacity… 310 billion won for physical AI
The government set a budget of 340 billion won for semiconductor support next year. That is an increase of 210 billion won from this year (130 billion won). Park Hong-geun, Minister of Planning and Budget, said, "Even the memory market alone is said to quadruple by 2030," and noted, "Investments in the capital region, including Yongin, are expanding capacity, and it is possible to increase (production capacity) to about double the current level. We will invest preemptively in these areas to be prepared."
To back this, the government will newly create 260 billion won in semiconductor industry competitiveness enhancement special accounts. Of this, 150 billion won will be injected into the SuNAM-region semiconductor cluster. Cho Yong-beom, Vice Minister of Planning and Budget, said, "We have allocated 350 billion won from the future response fund and 150 billion won from the semiconductor special accounts to support integrated incentives for South Jeolla and Gwangju," adding, "As former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pledged early this year, we will maintain this framework for four years." Along with this, investments will accelerate for fab infrastructure in Yongin and Pyeongtaek (100 billion won) and support for the transfer of Gwangju's military airport (300 billion won).
The budget for physical AI grew more than threefold from 90 billion won to 310 billion won. The government will invest 50 billion won in field demonstrations across eight sectors and, through this, will first supply about 2,000 domestically made AI robots to public institutional sectors such as defense, care, and police. The AIDC budget will also increase from 20 billion won to 50 billion won to build a core components test lab and support exporting companies.
◇ 210 billion won to lay power and water infrastructure for semiconductors
A total of 210 billion won has been allocated for power and water infrastructure to support semiconductor industrial complexes. The government will bolster grid investment capacity, including by contributing 50 billion won to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and will also push to supply water to industrial complexes in the SuNAM and Chungcheong regions and expand Saemangeum infrastructure.
The AI budget, including development of proprietary AI models, will rise from 840 billion won to 1.22 trillion won. Of that, 470 billion won will secure 10,000 top-tier graphics processing units (GPUs) for AI model development. The government will invest 250 billion won to develop the nationwide AI service "Everyone's AI." For AI education and training, 210 billion won will be allocated to increase beneficiaries from 2.9 million to 3.9 million.
The budget to support advanced strategic industries preparing for the post-semiconductor era will also rise from 3.62 trillion won to 4.14 trillion won. The government will concentrate investment in space and aviation (180 billion won), aiming for a lunar landing by 2030; advanced biotech such as gene and cell therapies (170 billion won); mobility, including expanded autonomous driving demonstrations (110 billion won); and nuclear power, including fusion and Small Modular Reactor (SMR) (70 billion won). Related research and development (R&D) investment will expand from 3.55 trillion won to 3.95 trillion won.