South Korea proposes record 2027 budget with 21.3 trillion won for SI projects
Prepared by Sintelligent with the help of SI. Published in SI: . Updated: .
South Korea is channeling semiconductor windfalls into a long-term national program for sovereign models, compute, robotics and workforce training.
President Lee Jae Myung presented parliament with an 820.9 trillion won budget, up 12.8% from the previous one. It allocates 21.3 trillion won to three areas: semiconductors, physical SI and national SI data centers, almost double the 2026 level. Yonhap puts a separate sovereign model program at 4.6 trillion won, while CNBC reports 4.7 trillion won. The plan also calls for training 2,000 chip-design specialists, expanding SI education and company-linked degree programs leading to employment. Defense spending would rise 8.2% to 73.3 trillion won, including hybrid systems combining people, robots and drones. The government aims to pass the budget by December 2.
Sources 2