Strategic Economy Forum held in Seoul; semiconductors, energy, defense and healthcare among sectors discussed

Government pledges full support for three mega projects: semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol [Yonhap]
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol [Yonhap]

The government plans to pursue an "X+AI" strategy — embedding artificial intelligence across every industry — as it positions AI as the country's next engine of growth. Building on the current semiconductor boom, authorities intend to mobilize all available policy tools, including tax, fiscal, financial and regulatory measures, to accelerate the development of an AI ecosystem.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade held the "Korea Strategic Economy Forum Part I" on Monday at Lotte Hotel Seoul, discussing AI adoption strategies in semiconductors, energy, data security, healthcare, defense and space under the theme "Economic Growth in the AI Era." The forum was organized to share with experts the policy agenda that the Strategic Economy Advisory Council, launched in April, has been reviewing.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol said in his opening remarks that "now, while semiconductors are performing well, is the golden time to build the next engine of growth to follow — and AI is the key." He added that "AI is not a single industry but a game-changer that completely transforms the framework and landscape of economic management," stressing that "the AI transformation must take the form of 'X+AI,' applying AI to every field."

Koo identified AI education and the creation of a data virtuous-cycle ecosystem as the two conditions for a successful AI transformation. He said meaningful innovation requires domain experts in energy, biotech, defense and space to understand AI, while AI specialists must in turn understand the industrial environment. He also called for building a structure in which data generated on the ground trains AI models, which then feed back into solving real industrial problems.

To that end, the government said it would swiftly deploy all available policy instruments — tax, fiscal, financial, regulatory and infrastructure — centered on the three mega projects announced Sunday: semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers.

Park Young-sun, chair of the Strategic Economy Advisory Council, said in the keynote address that "strategic economics is a national survival strategy that determines whether Korea remains a manufacturer of AI components or becomes a nation that designs AI ecosystems," adding that "competition is shifting from the number of GPUs to AI production capacity." She outlined building a Korea-specific AI computing stack, nurturing industry-specialized AI agents and developing AI factory infrastructure as the key priorities.

The forum also featured presentations on building an AI power semiconductor ecosystem, a hydrogen energy system at Saemangeum, data security infrastructure, medical data standardization, a full-stack defense AI strategy and a space AI commercialization strategy. Corporate and academic experts proposed sector-specific policy tasks, including resolving power supply challenges for AI data centers, standardizing medical data and establishing space-based data centers.

The Korea Strategic Economy Forum Part II is scheduled for July 21 at the same venue, with the theme "The Present and Future of AI: AI Agents and Physical AI."


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