South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Aug. 4 that artificial intelligence is reshaping the global industrial structure and that South Korea needs “bold and swift” investment action if it wants to avoid falling behind in the next wave of technology competition. He made the remarks at a policy briefing held by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
According to BlockTempo, the meeting was Lee’s first time issuing direct AI strategy guidance to the country’s industrial and trade agencies since taking office as president. He said the government’s job is to “identify trends, plan the future, and lay the foundation for innovation,” rather than follow events passively.
Lee puts AI at the center of industrial policy
In his opening remarks, Lee said: “With the arrival of AI, the world is going through major change, and industrial structures are being reshaped. At a time like this, what we need is bold decisions, investment, and swift action.”
The report said the comments stood in contrast to Lee’s earlier political image, which had focused more heavily on livelihood issues and anti-corruption, and showed that AI strategy has now been pushed to the core of national policy. It also said Lee treated AI as a “structural threat,” not just an opportunity.
That framing was presented alongside a warning from the Bank for International Settlements, which the article said had cautioned last month that the AI boom could lead to “monetary policy failure.” In that reading, policymakers are shifting from asking what AI can deliver to asking what risks it may bring.
Energy security and supply-chain diversification
Lee also highlighted two specific policy directions in his remarks.
- Energy security: He said that “ensuring solid industrial growth potential and a strong energy security system is key to building a country that can withstand changes in the external environment.”
- Diversification of export markets and supply chains: He said the government should make “unceasing efforts” to diversify both.
BlockTempo said those two points address what it described as South Korea’s two main vulnerabilities. First, semiconductor and AI chip manufacturing rely heavily on imported energy, including natural gas and oil, while rising electricity costs are weakening manufacturing competitiveness. Second, exports remain concentrated in China and the United States. The report said exports to China still accounted for 24% of South Korea’s total exports in the first half of 2026, making diversification more urgent as geopolitical risks rise.
The report drew a comparison with Taiwan
The article also argued that Lee’s AI strategy comments carry direct reference value for Taiwan’s industrial policymakers. It said Taiwan and South Korea share three structural similarities: semiconductor manufacturing accounts for more than 60% of global capacity, with TSMC, SK Hynix, and Samsung named as examples; exports are highly dependent on global technology supply chains, with China and the United States together making up more than 40% of export value; and both depend heavily on imported energy, while the power demands of AI data centers and chip production are squeezing renewable electricity allocation.
The report added that if South Korea adopts “energy security + supply-chain diversification + bold AI investment” as the main axis of national strategy, Taiwan could face the risk of being overtaken in the next round of semiconductor supply-chain competition if it does not accelerate comparable investment in energy and AI infrastructure.