South Korea’s top conglomerates pledge hundreds of billions for domestic investments

ISTANBUL

South Korea’s leading conglomerates on Sunday pledged hundreds of billions of dollars for domestic investments in areas such as chips, AI, and technology development.

Samsung’s 450 trillion won ($310 billion) five-year investment plan aims to sharply expand its chip manufacturing capacity, with a significant portion allocated to Samsung SDS’s large-scale AI data center in South Jeolla, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Hyundai Motor Group, in its largest-ever five-year investment plan, pledged a total of 125.2 trillion won ($86 billion) for South Korea through 2030, with some 50.5 trillion won ($34 billion) earmarked for new businesses such as AI, software-defined vehicles, robotics, and hydrogen.

SK Group said its investment could reach 600 trillion won ($414 billion) in AI and chips, though no specific timeline or details were provided. The group plans to hire around 20,000 employees each year through 2029.

LG Group pledged 100 trillion won ($69 billion) over the next five years, with 60% allocated to materials, parts, and equipment.

Hanwha plans to invest roughly 11 trillion won ($7 billion) over the next five years in shipbuilding and defense, in addition to about $5 billion in Philadelphia Shipyard in Pennsylvania.

The pledges during President Lee Jae Myung’s Sunday meeting with heads of major conglomerates to discuss follow-up measures to Seoul’s tariff deal with Washington, under which South Korea pledged a $350 billion investment package in return for reduced “reciprocal” tariffs of 15% on most exports to the US.

“It appears we have negotiated well. Yet concerns remain that a surge in U.S.-focused investment could come at the expense of domestic spending. While decisions will be guided by prevailing economic conditions, I would hope that, under comparable circumstances, greater attention would be devoted to nurturing investment at home,” Lee said.

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