South Korea Funds AI Industrial R&D Expansion

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) — South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said Wednesday it will create a 2 trillion-won (US$1.4 billion) R&D support package to establish industrial complexes and drive AI transformation in southern manufacturing regions, and earmark 1.5 trillion won to bolster the struggling chemical industry. The plan aims to create 500 AI factories by 2030, develop self-driving car and autonomous ship AI models, produce 10 industrial humanoid robots by the end of next year, and launch a 700 billion-won on-device AI chip project later this year.