Column: From K-Semiconductor to AI superpower —How South Korea is taking its next chip leap

South Korea’s 2026 AI-semiconductor grand plan isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s a geopolitical recalibration of global compute power. Technically, doubling DRAM and HBM output forces rapid adoption of advanced packaging (e.g., CoWoS-like integration) and high-purity materials, pulling the entire upstream stack into overdrive. Compliance-wise, decentralizing fabs beyond Seoul reduces concentration risk but inflates operational costs and invites scrutiny from U.S./EU regulators on state subsidies. With TSMC locking CoWoS capacity through 2027 and expanding in Arizona and Japan, Korea’s bet on ‘physical AI’ and sovereign AI data centers is a deliberate bypass of foundry dependency. Over the next 18 months, if Samsung and SK Hynix fail to achieve yield breakthroughs in HBM4 and 3D DRAM, this ambition could morph into a glut—not a leap.