According to a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, South Korea plans to invest at least KRW 34 trillion ($23 billion) to help companies develop cutting-edge technologies in the fields of batteries and biotechnology. In a statement released by the Finance Ministry, the South Korean government announced the launch of a new fund under the state-run Korea Development Bank to provide low-interest loans and equity investments for high-tech industries. Additionally, the government said it will soon establish a “national AI committee” with the goal of making the country one of the top three leaders in AI. It also noted that technology from the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is considered a “fresh shock” to the market. Notably, the announcement came one day after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited Seoul, where he met with executives from Samsung Electronics, SK Group, and the social media company Kakao. The Finance Ministry is expected to discuss legal amendments related to the initiative in parliament this March. Today, South Korea joined a growing list of countries and companies in blocking access to DeepSeek AI services from government devices, citing security concerns over the Chinese startup’s AI chatbot. [Bloomberg]
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