Korea will push for the investment of over a quadrillion won ($650 billion) in the construction of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers by 2035, the science minister said Monday. Minister Bae Kyung-hoon unveiled the plan during a national investment briefing chaired by President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae, emphasizing that ample data is important for Korea to secure a leading position in the global physical AI race. "The next three years will be the golden time to become the No. 1 in the area of physical AI," Bae said. "The government will lead the physical AI sector, by designating it as a national strategic industry." Under the plan, an initial investment of 550 trillion won will be spent to build 8.4 gigawatts (GW) of AI data centers by 2029. The ministry will gradually expand the infrastructure by 10 GW until 2035, Bae said. Infrastructure will be concentrated in non-capital areas for balanced regional development, he added. "Global investment earmarked for data centers over the next five years is $5.5 trillion, or 8.4 quadrillion in Korean won," Bae said, quoting Nvidia's ch
Korea to power regional growth with AI, chip ‘megaprojects’