韩国海南国家AI计算中心开工，规划2.4万亿韩元和1.5万张GPU

▲AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "artificial intelligence (AI)-based customized news recommendation and summarization service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items for each reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ National AI Computing Center Begins Full-Scale Construction: The government and private sector have begun building the National AI Computing Center in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, with a total project cost of 2.4 trillion won. Targeting completion in 2028, the plan is to build AI infrastructure on the scale of 15,000 GPUs and expand it to 50,000 by 2030, opening computing resources to industry, academia, and research institutions.
■ Wide Range of New Tax Benefits Tailored for Youth: The government has expanded support for the youth demographic, including raising the youth monthly rent tax deduction rate to 17% and applying an IRP tax deduction rate of 15% regardless of income level. As easing of the earned income tax credit income requirements allows more low-income households to receive benefits, the burden of housing and asset formation for job seekers appears to be easing.
■ K-Parts Makers Accelerate Entry into Robot Market: The U.S. FCC's ban on imports of Chinese-made robots is expanding opportunities for Korean auto parts makers to enter the North American robot parts market. Goldman Sachs projected that Korea will become a mass-production country of 74,000 units, equivalent to 30% of global humanoid production, by 2030.
[News of Interest to Property Investors]
1. Haenam AI Computing Center Breaks Ground...Building 15,000-GPU Infrastructure
Key Summary: The Ministry of Science and ICT and KOA held a groundbreaking ceremony for the National AI Computing Center in Solaseado, Haenam, South Jeolla Province, with a total project cost of 2.4 trillion won. A corporation jointly funded by the Samsung SDS consortium, the National Growth Fund, and the Ministry of Science and ICT through a public-private partnership will handle construction and operation, expanding to 15,000 GPUs by 2028 and 50,000 by 2030. Starting in 2027, before completion, part of the AI computing resources of the Samsung SDS data center will be opened first to preemptively address the urgent GPU shortage facing industry, academia, and research institutions. Once AI infrastructure is fully operational, demand for new jobs—including related research positions, data center operation, and verification of domestic AI semiconductors—is expected to increase significantly.
2. Dual-Income Earned Income Tax Credit Raised 300,000 Won...Youth Rent Deduction Rate Lifted to 17%
Key Summary: In the 2026 tax reform plan announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the youth monthly rent tax deduction rate rises to 17%, and the deduction limit expands from 10 million won per year to 12 million won. For youth IRP contributions, a 15% tax deduction rate applies regardless of income, and the tax exemption on interest income from the Soldier's Tomorrow Savings account is extended for three years until the end of 2029. As the earned income tax credit income requirements are eased, the total income ceiling for dual-income households rises from 44 million won to 52 million won, including more households as eligible recipients. Job seekers who work part-time jobs alongside their search now have an opportunity to increase their actual disposable income by carefully reviewing the tax benefits.
Key Summary: Lee Woo-keun, a Sungkyunkwan University professor with 20 years of experience at Tsinghua University, analyzed that China's 863 and 973 programs continued without interruption from the 1980s, laying the foundation for its technological hegemony. He pointed out that while the Double First-Class policy propelled Tsinghua University into the world's top 15, Seoul National University stayed in place, highlighting Korea's structural problem of long-term strategies being reset with every change of government. Like China's Xinchuang policy, in which the Chinese government purchases a certain volume of domestic semiconductors to guarantee initial profits, Korea also needs a stable demand-creation policy to foster its fabless ecosystem, he suggested. For job seekers interested in the system semiconductor and fabless fields, understanding the direction of change in Korean policy and the differences between the Chinese and Taiwanese ecosystems will help in career planning.
[Reference News for Property Investors]
4. U.S. Bars Chinese Robots...K-Parts Makers Gain Momentum in North America
Key Summary: As the U.S. FCC fully bans imports of new humanoid and quadruped robot models, Korean auto parts makers already operating local factories will benefit. Halla Cast will begin supplying robot thermal management parts to a North American company in the second half of this year and double its production capacity, while SL will begin mass production of leg modules for Boston Dynamics' "Spot" during the third quarter. Goldman Sachs projected that Korea, based on its automotive industry expertise, will account for 30% of global humanoid production by 2030. The pathway for machinery and automotive engineering majors to expand their careers into the robot parts field is widening.
5. Robotis Fully Opens Humanoid Software...Expanding the Robot Ecosystem
Key Summary: Robotis has released the entire software of its humanoid robot "AI Sapiens" as open source, adopting a license that even permits the development of commercial products. The released materials include Sim2Real tools and reinforcement learning workflows that have been cited as key challenges in humanoid development, making it possible for university labs, startups, and general developers to build high-performance humanoids. It is evaluated as the first case to break the non-disclosure principle of control code that had been an industry practice, transparently disclosing even the internal operating principles. For job seekers preparing for the robotics and AI fields, this means practical open-source resources have emerged to build up their portfolios.
Key Summary: The Korean-style IRA to be implemented next year has confirmed six items—semiconductors, secondary batteries, AI robot parts, solar, wind, and core materials—and SMR and MMR have been newly incorporated into national strategic technologies, with tax deductions of up to 50% and 30% applied to R&D and investment, respectively. It also includes extending the 90% income tax reduction period for young people employed at small and medium-sized enterprises in population-declining regions from five years to 10 years. A provision has also been newly established that, if stock price suppression for reducing inheritance and gift taxes is detected, will raise the inherited property value by at least 30% for taxation. The expansion of eligibility for national strategic technology support may increase investment and hiring by companies in the semiconductor, energy, and robot parts fields.
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