South Korea proposes record $597 billion 2027 budget to supercharge AI investment

SEOUL, Sept 1 : South Korea on Tuesday unveiled its most aggressive fiscal spending plan on record, setting total government expenditure for 2027 at 821 trillion won ($596.92 billion) to strengthen the country's technological edge amid the global AI race. In its annual budget proposal, the budget ministry said the spending plan represented a 12.8 per cent rise from 2026, marking the largest year-on-year increase in the country's history.The proposal signals a shift in Asia’s fourth-largest economy under President Lee Jae-myung, who has championed an expansionary fiscal policy since taking office in June last year, pivoting away from three years of fiscal austerity under his predecessor. The historic spending increase is possible thanks to a windfall from the country's semiconductor industr