South Korea Is Betting on AI, Robots and Nuclear Power: Inside Its Next Industrial Strategy
South Korea built its modern economy by repeatedly identifying strategic industries and scaling them faster than many of its competitors. Shipbuilding, automobiles, semiconductors, displays and batteries all played important roles in transforming the country from a relatively poor economy into one of the world's leading manufacturing powers. Now South Korea is preparing for another industrial transition. AI generated image This time, the focus is increasingly moving toward three interconnected areas: artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced nuclear energy, including small modular reactors (SMRs). The strategy is not simply about creating a few successful technology companies. It reflects a much larger question facing South Korea: What will replace the growth model that powered the country for the past several decades? With an aging population, a shrinking workforce and intensifying competition from China, the United States and Japan, South Korea needs new industries c...