Overview
- President Lee Jae Myung presented a 728 trillion won plan for 2026, an 8.1% rise from this year, now awaiting parliamentary approval where passage is considered likely.
- AI funding totals 10.1 trillion won, with 2.6 trillion won for broad adoption across industry, daily life and the public sector, and 7.5 trillion won for talent and infrastructure.
- The government requests 66.3 trillion won for defense, an 8.2% increase that would mark the largest annual rise since 2019 if approved.
- Lee said the military will overhaul conventional weapons into systems suited for the AI era to build an elite, smart force.
- Enabling industry moves cited include Nvidia’s plan to supply 260,000 advanced chips to Korea and reported preliminary deals tying Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to OpenAI’s Stargate project.