South Korea announces major semiconductor and AI infrastructure roadmap

South Korea has unveiled an industrial roadmap involving 800 trillion won in semiconductor investments and a 550 trillion won push for data centers. The plan aims to establish a second chip production base in the southwest and a packaging hub in Chungcheong, focusing on high-bandwidth memory chips. To support AI expansion, the government intends to facilitate power and water supplies, expand transmission capacity, and potentially implement a dedicated electricity rate for AI data centers.

Simultaneously, South Korean battery manufacturers are pivoting their US operations toward energy storage systems (ESS) due to slowing electric vehicle (EV) demand. The L-H Battery Company, a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Honda, has begun mass-producing grid-scale storage cells at its plant in Ohio. Additionally, Samsung SDI is preparing to begin production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells for stationary storage in the US by the third quarter of this year, converting existing EV manufacturing lines in Indiana to meet demand for battery energy storage systems.