Kyunghoon Bae: "Deeply Moved by 50 Trillion Won Investment for AI Powerhouse... Comprehensive Support to Follow" (Comprehensive)

"Two-Track Strategy: GPU Adoption and Domestic NPU Growth"

Baek Gung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT (right), is speaking at the joint public-private meeting for the National Growth Fund 'K-NVIDIA Project' held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 17th. 2026.3.17 Photo by Jo Yong-jun

In order to elevate South Korea into one of the world’s top three artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouses, the government will invest a total of 50 trillion won into the AI and semiconductor sectors over the next five years. This year alone, the plan is to invest a total of 10 trillion won, with an active strategy to foster the 'K-Nvidia' initiative.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Financial Services Commission held a public-private joint meeting for the National Growth Fund's 'K-Nvidia Fostering Project' with the Chairman of the Korea Development Bank and CEOs of domestic AI semiconductor companies at the Press Center on the afternoon of the 17th.

Deputy Prime Minister Kyunghoon Bae stated, "Today marks the second historic day since I became Deputy Prime Minister," adding, "Last year, we introduced 260,000 NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs). For our country to compete in the global AI ecosystem, we must not only secure large-scale GPU adoption, but also develop a robust 'two-track' strategy that enables the domestic NPU market to grow."

Bae also remarked, "For Korea to supply low-power, high-performance NPUs to the global market, investment is essential. I am deeply moved that today, through the National Growth Fund, we are able to make large-scale investments," emphasizing, "We are laying the foundation for our nation to become one of the top three AI powerhouses."

He continued, "To become a top three AI powerhouse, AI semiconductors must be the foundation, and based on that, Korea should steadily build strategies for robust AI model services. At this point, investment is extremely important, and the government will provide comprehensive support to realize the goal of becoming a global AI leader."

Deputy Prime Minister Bae: "AI Semiconductors Are Fundamental... Investment Is Key"

Currently, the global AI semiconductor market is highly dependent on a few specific companies, and there are limitations in responding to the explosive demand for AI services due to the enormous power consumption and operating costs of GPUs.

In response, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the 'AI Semiconductor Industry Leap Strategy' in December last year, aimed at rapidly nurturing low-power, low-cost NPUs (neural processing units) for the AI inference market in the short-term, while gradually securing industrial capabilities to lead the future AI semiconductor market.

The Ministry of Science and ICT launched the so-called 'K-Nvidia Fostering' project to support the design and production of domestic AI semiconductors and proposed it to the Financial Services Commission. In December last year, the Commission selected and announced seven initial megaprojects for the National Growth Fund, including this proposal.

Eogwon Lee, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said, "The AI industry requires not only large-scale investments in the early stages of infrastructure development, but also periodic hardware upgrades and scale-up investments as the market expands, which means long-term capital inflows are needed." He promised, "Through the National Growth Fund, linked with private capital, the Financial Services Commission will provide 50 trillion won in long-term patient capital to the AI and semiconductor sectors over the next five years, with about 10 trillion won to be supplied this year alone."

On the 17th, at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, participants including Eokwon Lee, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Kyung Hoon Bae, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, Sangjin Park, Chairman of the Korea Development Bank, and CEOs of five AI semiconductor companies, took a commemorative photo at the joint public-private meeting for the National Growth Fund's 'K-NVIDIA Project'. 2026.3.17 Photo by Yongjun Cho

At the meeting, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced plans to foster the AI semiconductor industry ecosystem and the domestic low-power, high-efficiency NPU sector. Taewan Park, Director General of ICT Industry Policy, stated, "The paradigm of the AI semiconductor market is shifting from general-purpose to efficiency (low power, low cost). In order for domestic NPU technology innovation to translate into tangible dominance in the global market, large-scale capital input is essential, and concentrated investment linked with the National Growth Fund must support this effort."

The Financial Services Commission revealed its plan to foster a virtuous cycle of private investment in the AI sector and enable domestic AI companies to achieve stable growth in the global technology competition, by implementing investment strategies tailored to the initial infrastructure, operational, and maintenance stages—committing a total of 10 trillion won this year for the AI and semiconductor fields.

CEOs of AI semiconductor companies presented their technology development roadmaps for next-generation NPUs featuring ultra-low power and high performance. Five domestic AI semiconductor companies participated: Rebellions, FuriosaAI, HyperAccel, DeepX, and Mobilint.

Sangjin Park, Chairman of Korea Development Bank, said, "As a policy finance institution, the Korea Development Bank has been working to build the industry ecosystem through initial direct investments and ongoing follow-up investments in domestic AI semiconductor companies. Moving forward, we will boldly invest in promising AI semiconductor companies using a range of financial instruments including the National Growth Fund, and provide focused support across the entire value chain, from fabless, foundry, to packaging."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.