South Korea is poised to become one of the world’s next AI powerhouses. With world-class semiconductor manufacturing, dense digital infrastructure, highly educated talent, and a government that has made AI a national priority, the country has the ingredients to lead. Our new Economic Blueprint for Korea outlines how South Korea can translate those strengths into scaled, trusted AI adoption across its economy—while ensuring the benefits are broadly shared.
This blueprint builds on recent milestones, including OpenAI’s first country-level partnership in APAC announced on October 1. Through the Stargate initiative, Samsung and SK plan to expand advanced memory supply crucial to frontier AI, while OpenAI, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), and the partners are exploring next-generation AI data centers in Korea. Alongside the launch of the Korea office and a strategic collaboration with Seoul National University, these steps reflect Korea’s momentum and the potential for positive spillovers across industry, infrastructure, and talent.
## Why Korea and why now
## A dual-track strategy
The blueprint recommends a dual-track approach:
These tracks are complementary: frontier adoption can strengthen operational maturity, data stewardship, and cost efficiency—capabilities that, in turn, reinforce Korea’s sovereign AI ecosystem.
## Priority areas for impact
## Enablers: infrastructure, operations, data, and law
## What success looks like
If South Korea pairs sovereign capability-building with targeted frontier partnerships, it can:
Korea’s ambition to be a top-three AI nation is credible. The decisive factor now is speed to safe deployment—turning promise into practice across sectors and regions.
“As we enter a new era of intelligence, Korea has a historic opportunity to lead, powered by its strengths in semiconductors, digital infrastructure, talent, and strong government support,” said Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer. “This approach can position Korea not just as an adopter, but as a global standard-setter and trusted provider of scalable AI systems.”
Read the full report here(opens in a new window) for our recommendations and case studies.
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