True
South Korea's government investment in information and communications technology research has reached the 2 trillion won range, a scale the Ministry of Science and ICT is directing disproportionately toward physical AI and AI semiconductors under its latest ICT R&D plan, according to the ministry's original announcement.
The headline number in the plan is the 2 trillion won level, which marks a new plateau for the ministry's ICT R&D portfolio. The priorities inside that envelope point clearly to two fields: physical AI โ AI systems designed to perceive, decide and act in the physical world, such as robots and autonomous machines โ and AI semiconductors, the chips purpose-built for AI computation.
By concentrating new investment on those areas, the ministry is aligning the research budget with technologies widely seen as shaping the next phase of the AI industry, alongside Korea's established strength in the broader semiconductor supply chain. The plan positions AI not only as software running on general-purpose hardware but as an investment track spanning embodied systems and the specialized silicon beneath them.
The fact-check drew on a review of eight primary sources, anchored by the ministry's original announcement text. One access route to the document was blocked by a "system maintenance" notice, but the full original text was captured through the standard form submission path from the list page, allowing a direct comparison between the claim and the source material.
The original announcement confirms both elements of the claim: that ICT R&D investment has entered the 2 trillion won era, and that the spending is concentrated on physical AI and AI semiconductors. Based on the ministry's original text and the surrounding primary-source record, the claim is True.
