🔥 Korea’s AI Surge: $1.8B Budget, GPU Investment & Foundry Ecosystem
📅 Analysis Period: April 17 – April 19, 2025
📌 1. Government Pushes $1.8B AI Supplementary Budget
The Korean government is allocating 1.8 trillion KRW (~$1.3 billion USD) to AI infrastructure and domestic model development. The plan includes securing 10,000 high-performance GPUs within the year and launching global-level AI projects.
- Gov’t budgets $1.8B for AI… 10K GPUs and domestic AI models
• Securing 10,000 GPUs to enhance AI infrastructure.
• Launch of independent AI model development.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - $1.8B AI budget targets global competitiveness with GPUs
• Government-led initiative to boost national AI capabilities.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - GPU procurement & world-class AI model rollout
• Aims to increase AI computing power 7x compared to 2023.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Budget supports AI semiconductor localization
• In parallel with GPU imports, Korean-made AI chips are pushed.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Budget kickstarts “World Best LLM” and Global AI Challenge
• Investment directed toward next-generation large language models.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18
📌 2. AI Foundry Ecosystem Expands Rapidly
Led by KT Cloud, AI foundry partnerships are forming with Upstage, Rebellions, and Polaris Office. The goal is to build an ecosystem where enterprises can easily adopt AI infrastructure and services.
- KT Cloud forms ‘AI alliance’ with leading tech firms
• Strategic partnerships formed to lower AI adoption barriers.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - KT Cloud launches AI Foundry business
• Platform will support corporate AI needs.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Expanded partnerships to scale AI foundry services
• Companies join hands to roll out AI solutions quickly.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - RAG-powered AI models also in pipeline
• Lightweight and modular AI support planned.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Polaris Office joins AI Foundry ecosystem
• Specializes in data refinement and model deployment.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18
📌 3. Political Spotlight on AI Policy
As the June presidential election nears, candidates from both ruling and opposition parties are proposing bold AI strategies, including mega-investments and data cluster construction.
- Rival candidates unified on AI development
• Proposals include 100 trillion KRW investment and national data clusters.
• Article Link | 2025.04.19 - AI emerges as core agenda in presidential race
• Candidates highlight Korea’s need to secure AI leadership.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Conservatives propose AI investment & decentralization
• $113B (150조 KRW) investment plan and regional AI hubs.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Lee pledges AI-led defense modernization
• AI to become cornerstone of Korea’s defense industry.
• Article Link | 2025.04.17 - Defense strategy backed by AI innovation
• Lee envisions Korea as top-4 military exporter.
• Article Link | 2025.04.17
📌 4. AI Penetration Across Industries
AI technology is being actively adopted in construction, education, and healthcare. Enterprises are shifting from experimentation to implementation with AI for automation and decision-making support.
- Construction firms turn to AI during downturn
• Communication and system optimization via AI tools.
• Article Link | 2025.04.19 - AI textbooks enhance personalized learning
• Nationwide deployment in Korean elementary schools.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Samsung boosts workforce with AI training
• Company-wide AI skill development initiatives.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - AI guides feeding for critical-care patients
• AI-assisted X-ray analysis enables safe feeding decisions.
• Article Link | 2025.04.19 - MBC integrates AI in entire production chain
• Newsroom launches project for AI-driven broadcasting.
• Article Link | 2025.04.19
📌 5. Global AI Race and Geopolitical Tensions
The U.S. has tightened AI chip export controls against China, intensifying global AI rivalry. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s new image-based reasoning model marks a major milestone in multimodal AI.
- U.S. blocks Intel from selling AI chips to China
• Export ban follows NVIDIA restriction.
• Article Link | 2025.04.17 - OpenAI unveils image-reasoning AI ‘o3’
• First AI model capable of visual inference.
• Article Link | 2025.04.17 - U.S. to sanction Chinese AI startup DeepSeek
• Data transfer concerns drive AI regulation.
• Article Link | 2025.04.17 - Industry warns tariffs will harm U.S. AI firms
• U.S. chipmakers urge rollback of Trump-era measures.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18 - Speak joins 2025 AI 50 list by Forbes
• AI-powered language learning app gains global recognition.
• Article Link | 2025.04.18
📈 AI-Based Stock Predictions
| Company | Reason for Recommendation |
|---|---|
| KT Cloud | Leading role in AI Foundry ecosystem |
| Upstage | Expanding enterprise AI service partnerships |
| Rebellions | AI chip and Foundry service expansion |
| Polaris Office | Data preprocessing and lightweight AI solution provider |
| Samsung Electronics | Internal AI training and infrastructure investment |
🔑 Key Keywords
AI Budget, GPU, AI Foundry, KT Cloud, Upstage, AI Semiconductor, AI Policy, Industry Adoption, OpenAI, Export Control