It is part of the country's so-called Three Mega Projects to develop new chip production hubs, data centers and robotics technology. The plan is aimed at rejuvenating the economies of areas outside the capital Seoul, President Lee Jae-myung said on Monday. It comes as regional rivals like Taiwan, China and Japan are investing heavily in chip factories and other technologies as the AI boom pushes up demand for semiconductors. "We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country", Lee said. "Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers are the triple axis for a great leap forward." Lee announced the plans in a televised event alongside the leaders of Samsung and SK Hynix, the country's two largest chipmakers. Lee also announced plans to build other AI infrastructure hubs outside of Seoul, where most of the country's advanced factories are currently concentrated. Earlier, Lee said in a statement that the project was a matter of "survival" for the country to address the decline in rural areas due to the concentration of industries in Seoul.

"Now, we must break this long-standing cycle of discrimination and marginalisation - not only for the sake of justice and equity, but also to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth", he wrote. Samsung and SK Group, which count the likes of AI chip giant Nvidia among their customers, have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the surge in spending on AI infrastructure. US tech giants - including Google, Amazon and Meta - said they will spend $650bn into the technology this year. (BBC)