Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
AWS, global firms to invest $9 bil. in Korea to bolster AI, high-tech industries
President Lee Jae Myung talks with Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman during a meeting in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Lee Gyu-lee
GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — Amazon Web Services (AWS) and six other global companies unveiled plans to invest a combined $9 billion in Korea over the next five years to strengthen the country’s role as a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced industries, the presidential office said Wednesday.
The announcement came after President Lee Jae Myung met with AWS CEO Matt Garman and executives from the multinational firms in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, securing multibillion-dollar commitments in key strategic sectors, including AI, semiconductors, secondary batteries, future mobility and biotechnology.
The executives are visiting Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit.
Among their pledges, AWS will invest more than $5 billion by 2031 to establish new AI data centers in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, following its $4 billion investment in June to build an AI data center in Ulsan — the largest greenfield investment in Korea’s history.
The tech giant’s latest move underscores its confidence in Korea’s strong growth potential and the government’s determination to accelerate AI sector development.
“(AWS) is very excited about the potential here in Korea and is making very large investments for the country here and for AI,” Garman said during the meeting. “And as part of that, we’ll be committing to invest $5 billion in additional AI infrastructure here in the country to help grow that technology.”
Lee said AWS’ new investment will help accelerate Korea’s drive to become one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses, citing initiatives such as the creation of an “AI expressway” to enable AI capabilities to be harnessed by industries and for research.
“The greatest task facing the Republic of Korea right now is to recover our economy and continue growth. At the center of our recovery and growth is advanced science and technology, and I believe a core part of that is AI data,” Lee said. “It is a great pleasure to know that Korea and AWS will share our future together.”
As part of the broader initiative, Renault, Amkor Technology, Corning, Air Liquide, Siemens Healthineers and Umicore also announced investment plans across key high-tech sectors. The seven companies submitted foreign direct investment (FDI) reports totaling $660 million to be injected in the near future.
Renault Korea CEO Nicolas Paris said the carmaker has designated Korea as one of its five global strategic hubs and plans to convert production lines at its Busan factory to produce electric vehicles (EVs).
Siemens Healthineers Asia-Pacific President Vy Tran announced a $50 million investment to expand production lines for cardiac ultrasound device components in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.
Umicore Executive Vice President Karena Cancilleri said the Belgium-based materials technology firm will expand its production capacity from 35 gigawatts to 40 gigawatts, enough to supply batteries for 500,000 EVs annually.
Meanwhile, Amkor Technology will expand its semiconductor back-end facilities, Corning will invest in advanced materials manufacturing for mobile devices, and Air Liquide will enlarge its semiconductor specialty gas plant — moves expected to further strengthen Korea’s high-tech industrial base.