South Korea Plans Record 2027 Budget of Over 800 Trillion Won as AI Chip Boom Lifts Tax Revenue

How large is South Korea's record 2027 budget, and how much does it grow from this year?

According to a Technews report dated July 13, 2026, the South Korean government's proposed budget expenditure for fiscal year 2027 is set to reach a record high of over 800 trillion won (approximately NT$17 trillion) (E1). The same figure is confirmed by United Daily News, which cites the identical 800-trillion-won-plus proposal in its July 13, 2026 report (E7).

By comparison, the current fiscal year's planned budget expenditure stands at 727.9 trillion won, excluding any supplementary budget, according to both Technews (E2) and United Daily News (E8). Putting the two figures side by side shows an increase of more than 72.1 trillion won, or roughly a 9.9% rise over the current plan — a gap driven, according to the reports, by rising tax revenue tied to the AI and chip boom.

What is the financing plan for the 2027 budget?

According to Technews, South Korea's Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination and Budget, Park Hong-geun (朴洪根), told the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting on July 13 that the financing for next year's budget plan would come from increased tax revenue and spending cuts (E3). United Daily News reported the same statement from Park at the same meeting on the same date (E9).

What are the "mega projects" prioritized in next year's budget?

Both Technews (E4) and United Daily News (E10) report that the South Korean government identified three "mega project" investment areas — semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI — as the top priorities for fiscal spending. According to both reports, funding for these projects will not rely solely on increased tax revenue but will also involve a major restructuring of existing government spending arrangements.

How does the government plan to ensure corporate investment follows through?

President Lee Jae-myung (李在明) said the government would use every available means to ensure that corporate investment proceeds as planned, according to Technews (E5) and United Daily News (E11), which both quote the same remarks. Lee described the current period as a "golden moment" that will determine global AI dominance, and characterized the additional tax revenue generated during this period as a "valuable resource" the government can deploy (E5, E11).

What is the purpose and investment strategy of the "Future Response Fund"?

According to both Technews (E6) and United Daily News (E12), the South Korean government plans to establish a "Future Response Fund" for strategic investment. The fund would draw on tax revenue that exceeds longer-term trend projections, directing that surplus toward four areas: youth, growth engines, regional development, and talent (E6, E12).

What this means

Taken together, the figures reported by Technews and United Daily News show a budget plan built on a specific chain of reasoning: rising tax revenue — attributed to the AI and chip boom — is the stated basis for both the record 800-trillion-won-plus 2027 budget (E1, E7) and the new Future Response Fund (E6, E12), even as Minister Park also cites spending cuts as part of the financing mix (E3, E9). At the same time, the government's own statement that mega-project funding will require "major restructuring of existing spending" (E4, E10) suggests that tax revenue growth alone is not treated as sufficient to cover the semiconductor, AI data center, and physical AI priorities — a tension between revenue optimism and acknowledged spending trade-offs that runs through both reports.