South Korea's AI chip budget goes unspent through August

South Korea's government is pushing to join the "global top three AI powers," but the AI semiconductor development program led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) had spent nothing by the end of August 2026. The core AI semiconductor budget for 2026 totaled KRW166.554 billion (about US$119 million), according to <em>Edaily</em> and <em>Newdaily</em>, yet cumulative execution remained at KRW0.