South Korea plans to set a record budget of over 800 trillion won, focusing on increased investment in AI and chips

According to a report by Reuters on July 13, the South Korean government announced plans to draft a budget expenditure for the fiscal year 2027, which will reach a historic high of over 800 trillion won (approximately 530.97 billion USD). The expansion of this budget scale is mainly attributed to strong tax revenue growth brought about by the prosperity of the AI chip industry.

The South Korean government stated that the funding for the budget will rely on increased tax revenue and the restructuring of existing expenditure items amounting to about 50 trillion won. In terms of fund allocation, the three major "giant projects"—chips, AI data centers, and physical AI—will receive the highest financial priority.

In addition, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung emphasized that this is a critical period for determining global AI dominance. To this end, South Korea plans to establish a "Future Response Fund" as a strategic investment platform, which will specifically invest excess tax revenue in four key areas: youth, growth engines, regional development, and talent cultivation, to ensure that corporate investments proceed as planned.