South Korea to spend $1T on more memory chip production and humanoid robots
South Korea to spend $1T on more memory chip production and humanoid robots
韩国将投入1万亿美元用于扩大存储芯片生产及人形机器人研发
South Korea’s government and top tech companies are committing $1 trillion to several flagship megaprojects that could bolster global memory chip supply, build new AI data centers and spur commercial deployment of humanoid robots by 2028. 韩国政府及顶级科技公司正投入1万亿美元，启动多项旗舰级大型项目。这些项目旨在加强全球存储芯片供应、建设新型人工智能数据中心，并推动人形机器人在2028年前实现商业化部署。
The announcement comes as South Korean companies such as Samsung and SK Hynix have enjoyed record profits and stock valuations due to the AI industry’s demand for memory chips—with the subsequent supply strain leading to memory chip shortages and higher prices for consumer electronics. 此次宣布正值韩国企业（如三星和SK海力士）因人工智能行业对存储芯片的强劲需求而获得创纪录利润和股价估值之际。随之而来的供应紧张已导致存储芯片短缺，并推高了消费电子产品的价格。
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Company is racing to mass manufacture humanoid robots developed by its subsidiary, Boston Dynamics, so that the robotic workers can start taking over certain laborious tasks in automotive factories and other workplaces. 与此同时，现代汽车公司正竞相大规模生产其子公司波士顿动力（Boston Dynamics）开发的人形机器人，以便让这些机器人劳动力开始接管汽车工厂及其他工作场所的部分繁重任务。
“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in a televised speech on June 29, as reported by BBC News and other media outlets. “Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers are the triple axis for a great leap forward.” 据英国广播公司（BBC）及其他媒体报道，韩国总统李在明在6月29日的电视讲话中表示：“我们必须比任何国家都更快地掌握人工智能的核心要素。半导体、物理人工智能和人工智能数据中心是实现跨越式发展的‘三轴’。”
But the initiatives also coincide with public debates about South Korean chipmakers’ huge profits during the AI boom and even policymaker proposals to distribute the excess wealth, along with South Korean labor unions pushing back against the prospect of humanoid robots entering the workforce. 然而，这些举措也伴随着公众对于韩国芯片制造商在人工智能热潮中获取巨额利润的讨论，甚至引发了政策制定者关于分配超额财富的提议，以及韩国工会对人形机器人进入劳动力市场前景的抵制。
More memory chips and data centers
更多存储芯片与数据中心
The most costly of the megaprojects involves Samsung and SK Hynix committing $585 billion to building new chip fabrication plants in the southwest provinces of South Korea, along with boosting semiconductor fab construction in the Seoul capital region, according to Reuters. 据路透社报道，这些大型项目中成本最高的一项涉及三星和SK海力士投入5850亿美元，在韩国西南部省份建设新的芯片制造工厂，并加强首尔首都圈的半导体工厂建设。
The government’s goal is to double South Korea’s production of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) within five years. However, the new fabs in South Korea’s southwestern region may need more time to get up and running, with SK Hynix Chairman Chey Tae-won commenting that it took nine years for the company to build a cluster of chip manufacturing facilities in Yongjin within the Seoul metropolitan area. 政府的目标是在五年内将韩国的动态随机存取存储器（DRAM）产量翻一番。然而，韩国西南部的新工厂可能需要更多时间才能投入运营。SK海力士董事长崔泰源曾表示，该公司在首尔大都市区的龙仁市建设芯片制造设施集群耗时九年。
So it’s unclear how soon global consumers can expect relief from sky-high memory chip prices and elevated prices for Apple’s Macs and Valve’s Steam Machine—especially if the AI boom continues and tech companies continue to buy up memory for AI data centers. 因此，全球消费者何时能从高昂的存储芯片价格以及苹果Mac和Valve Steam Machine等产品的高价中解脱出来，目前尚不明确——尤其是如果人工智能热潮持续，且科技公司继续为人工智能数据中心大量采购存储器的话。
The second flagship megaproject involves a $357 billion investment by the South Korean tech companies SK Group, GS Group, and Naver into building large-scale AI data centers in more outlying provinces, including South Chungcheong Province in the west, Gangwon Province in the east, and the North and South Jeolla Provinces in the southwest corner of South Korea. 第二个旗舰项目涉及韩国科技公司SK集团、GS集团和Naver投入3570亿美元，在更偏远的省份建设大规模人工智能数据中心，包括西部的忠清南道、东部的江原道，以及韩国西南角的全罗北道和全罗南道。
However, the new semiconductor chip fabs and the AI data centers require substantial electricity and water to operate. South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said it was working to secure 6.3 gigawatts of electricity and 650,000 tons of water for the southwestern chip plants, along with an additional 8 gigawatts of power to support the new AI data centers, according to The Korea Times. 然而，新的半导体芯片工厂和人工智能数据中心的运营需要大量的电力和水资源。据《韩国时报》报道，韩国气候、能源和环境部表示，正努力为西南部芯片工厂确保6.3吉瓦的电力和65万吨水资源，并额外提供8吉瓦的电力以支持新的人工智能数据中心。
Renewable power and nuclear power plants would help supply the electricity needed for chip fabs and AI data centers, alongside fossil fuels, government officials said. Nuclear power and coal power both accounted for more than 30 percent of South Korea’s electricity generation in 2024, but the country’s reliance on natural gas for nearly 25 percent of electricity generation has left it vulnerable to supply shortages and surging prices during the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis. 政府官员表示，可再生能源和核电站将与化石燃料一起，为芯片工厂和人工智能数据中心提供所需的电力。2024年，核电和煤电各占韩国发电量的30%以上，但该国近25%的电力依赖天然气，这使其在持续的霍尔木兹海峡危机期间容易受到供应短缺和价格飙升的影响。
Physical AI push and resistance to robots
物理人工智能的推进与对机器人的抵制
The third flagship megaproject revolves around the South Korean government assigning a “national strategic industry” designation to physical AI—the AI systems that enable robots and self-driving vehicles to interact more autonomously with the real world. 第三个旗舰项目围绕韩国政府将“物理人工智能”（Physical AI）指定为“国家战略产业”展开。物理人工智能是指使机器人和自动驾驶汽车能够更自主地与现实世界进行交互的AI系统。
The government aims to develop a Korean “general-purpose foundation model” based on a world model to support robots within three years, according to The Chosun Daily. Hyundai Motor Company has also committed $5.8 billion to build a robot manufacturing facility and AI data center in the Saemangeum region of North Jeolla Province in the southwest, The Chosun Daily reported. 据《朝鲜日报》报道，政府的目标是在三年内开发出一种基于世界模型的韩国“通用基础模型”，以支持机器人发展。该报还报道称，现代汽车公司已承诺投入58亿美元，在韩国西南部全罗北道的新万金地区建设机器人制造工厂和人工智能数据中心。
The South Korean automaker has already been helping Boston Dynamics—the US robotics company it acquired in 2021—use the South Korean supply chain in scaling up manufacturing to produce 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots each year by 2028. 这家韩国汽车制造商一直在帮助其于2021年收购的美国机器人公司波士顿动力，利用韩国的供应链扩大生产规模，目标是在2028年前每年生产3万台Atlas人形机器人。
Similarly, the South Korean government announced it would aim to commercialize humanoid robots in 10 major industries by 2028, along with training 10,000 human workers as “AI robotics specialists” over the next five years, Reuters reported. 据路透社报道，韩国政府同样宣布，目标是在2028年前在10个主要行业实现人形机器人的商业化，并在未来五年内培训1万名“人工智能机器人专家”。
However, South Korean workers are not feeling so optimistic about the prospect of competing with more robots. On June 25, Hyundai Motor’s labor union overwhelmingly approved a potential strike as it negotiated with the South Korean automaker about profit-sharing and job protections to offset the company’s planned deployment of Atlas humanoid robots, according to The Korea Times. 然而，韩国工人对于与更多机器人竞争的前景并不感到乐观。据《韩国时报》报道，6月25日，现代汽车工会以压倒性多数投票通过了潜在的罢工计划，理由是工会正在与公司就利润分享和就业保障进行谈判，以抵消公司计划部署Atlas人形机器人带来的影响。
A state labor mediation committee also granted the union the legal right to strike after suspending the arbitration process, with Hyundai Motor appealing to the union to return to the negotiating table. 在中止仲裁程序后，国家劳动调解委员会已授予工会合法罢工权，而现代汽车则呼吁工会重返谈判桌。
Other societal tensions have already arisen around South Korean chipmakers’ burgeoning profits from the AI boom. South Korean government officials have encouraged tech companies to share some of their unprecedented profits with their workers and smaller supplier companies. 围绕韩国芯片制造商在人工智能热潮中激增的利润，其他社会矛盾也已显现。韩国政府官员鼓励科技公司与员工及小型供应商分享部分前所未有的利润。
In May, the South Korean presidential chief of staff for policy even offhandedly proposed a “national dividend” for citizens based on excess tax revenue from South Korean’s companies’ AI-driven profits—though the government later described that as a personal view rather than official policy. 今年5月，韩国总统政策室室长甚至随口提议，利用韩国企业因人工智能驱动的利润所产生的超额税收，向公民发放“国民红利”——尽管政府随后将其描述为个人观点，而非官方政策。