(Feb 5): South Korea aims to invest at least 34 trillion won (US$23 billion or RM103.95 billion) to help companies develop cutting-edge technologies in the battery and biotech sectors, citing rising geopolitical tensions and competition from China.

The government will set up a new fund under the state-run Korea Development Bank to offer low interest rate loans, and buy stakes in the high-tech industries, a statement from the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. It didn’t specify a start date or completion timeline for the investments, or details of the fundraising.

The announcement comes a day after OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman visited Seoul, where he met with executives of chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co, SK Inc and internet company Kakao Corp.

The government will also launch a “national AI committee” as soon as possible to make the country one of the world’s three leading AI nations, it said, adding that the technology of Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek came as a “fresh shock”. 

The ministry will discuss in Parliament the revisions required for relevant laws in March. 

In December, the government unveiled plans to invest US$38 billion to build new supply chains for electric vehicles and batteries to counter China’s dominance. South Korea, which is one of the world’s biggest chips exporters, faces lingering uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs.

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