National CAPEX: Asia Survives on AI, South Korea Allocates $597B Budget

Artificial intelligence has definitively transitioned from a corporate investment into an instrument of state survival. On September 1, 2026, South Korea presented a record national budget for 2027 of $596.9 billion, where the absolute priority is the development of AI infrastructure and support for semiconductor giants (Samsung, SK Hynix).

Simultaneously, the President of Taiwan publicly reminded the international community of the global AI boom’s total dependence on TSMC chips. Macroeconomic data confirms this structural shift: the August growth in industrial production in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan was driven entirely by explosive demand for server "hardware." The Asian region has de facto become the global silicon forge. The AI industry no longer relies on venture capital; it is now funded by the budgets of entire nations striving to maintain a monopoly in the hardware supply chain.

Source: Reuters / Yahoo Finance