South Korea announces an ambitious economic strategy that places artificial intelligence and deep technology at the heart of its growth agenda, pledging massive financial and regulatory support to accelerate AI transformation and 30 national innovation projects to clean.
“Artificial intelligence is the only breakthrough that can reverse the decline in growth,” the government said in a press release, predicting that aggressive AI adoption could raise productivity by up to 3.2% and increase GDP by up to 12.6%.
The plan, released Friday by economic ministries, comes as the country faces a sharp decline in potential growth rates, ages and erodes global competitiveness.
At the heart of the plan are 15 AI-centric projects designed to embed intelligent systems across manufacturing, services and government. These include humanoid robots for logistics and manufacturing, self-driving cars and ships, AI-powered appliances, drones for fire and agriculture, and AI-enabled factories that combine robotics and process optimization.
The government will also support AI semiconductors for on-device computing and improve the public sector with systems for welfare supply, tax compliance and faster drug approval. For example, AI screens drug submissions to reduce approval times and traces tax retardation with automated filing and fraud detection.
The country will also invest in data centers, national AI computing hubs and 6G hyper AI networks. With intensive support from a small number of elite domestic research teams to develop the Korean AI Foundation model, the university will expand AI training from elementary schools to doctoral level. The 15 “Super Innovation Economy” projects target advanced materials, energy resilience and new industries.
On the energy side, the project will include next-generation solar cells, offshore wind turbines with high-voltage DC transmission, green hydrogen and small modular reactors, and AI-driven smart agriculture and fisheries to enhance food security. South Korea will also develop a 10cm resolution satellite for climate surveillance and disaster response.
The consumer-led initiative aims to globalize South Korea's strengths under the theme of “K-Boom Up.” These include AI-enhanced biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, AI-powered content such as gaming and webtoons, K-Beatty clusters for exporting cosmetics, and K-Food strategies to penetrate the halal market and expand global distribution.
Published on Dawn on August 25th, 2025
