Semiconductors, Data Centers, Physical AI Proposes 'Triple Axis' Development Project
Kim Yong-beom, head of the Presidential Office of Policy, on Tuesday proposed "Project Trinity," an initiative to develop semiconductors, data centers, and physical artificial intelligence (AI) as a triple axis. His mention of "intensive development of AI infrastructure" drew attention, coming as Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) are reportedly considering semiconductor investments in regional areas.
Kim made the remarks in a post titled "Project Trinity: The Industrial Triple Axis of the AI Era" on Facebook that day. "Korea is a rare country that possesses semiconductors, power infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing all at once," he said. "When the three interlock, Korea can become not merely a country that supplies components, but a hub that underpins the entire AI supply chain." He added, "If even one of the three stages is empty, the value chain is not complete."
Kim assessed that the existing global AI supply chain has been formed around the United States (software), Taiwan (advanced semiconductors), and China (large-scale manufacturing), but that geopolitical risks, technological decoupling, and power shortages have left countries unable to secure the electricity needed for AI computing in time. "There are many companies that design AI, but few countries that provide the entire supply chain," he said. "The strategic value of the AI era comes not from the model itself, but from providing the foundation on which the model has no choice but to run."
He particularly noted, "What is more important is that these foundations connect to one another," adding, "Semiconductors make data centers possible, data centers drive physical AI, and physical AI in turn creates new data." He argued, "Once this cycle begins, the industries do not grow separately but accelerate like a single flywheel," and "Project Trinity is precisely the conceptual framework for creating this national flywheel."
Citing the combined effect among semiconductors, AI data centers (AIDC), and power infrastructure, he said, "Chips call for infrastructure, and infrastructure in turn grows demand for chips." He also assessed, "The biggest obstacle to AIDC investment right now is not money but power," and "It is advantageous for AIDC to be built in non-metropolitan areas where power is in surplus or near power generation facilities."
Regarding these remarks, observers in political circles suggest they may have been made with an eye on reports that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are considering expanding semiconductor facility investments into the Honam and Chungcheong regions. Kim also stressed, "Building a data center is, in effect, creating an industry," adding, "If Korea intensively builds large-scale AIDCs, it will not end at infrastructure investment but become a process of securing new industrial capabilities."
On physical AI, he forecast that demand for robots and automation will structurally increase due to demographic changes such as aging and a declining working-age population. "Korea's strength is its ability to run AI stably in the real world," he said. "This is the reason the manufacturing competitiveness built up in the semiconductor era can remain a weapon in the physical AI era."
Original reporting by Jeon Hee-yoon for Seoul Economic Daily.
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording.
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