Chey says Korea's 3 mega-projects are 'no pipe dream'; Lee calls AI pace 'astonishing'

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said AI is advancing at a remarkable pace and that demand for memory chips is "enormous" — pushing back against concerns that new semiconductor cluster projects, including one planned for the Honam region, could trigger oversupply and send memory prices into a tailspin.

The two executives made the remarks Friday (local time) at the AI Summit in San Francisco.

Chey opened by noting that Korea has announced more than $3 trillion in investment across three mega-projects: expanding semiconductor fabs, building AI data centers and pursuing large-scale AI investment. "The number may seem unfamiliar, and people might wonder whether it is exaggerated," he said, "but I want to make clear that this is no pipe dream."

Chey said he had lunch with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Friday, sharing chicken and pizza, and that the scale of chips Nvidia wants is staggering. The scale Nvidia is seeking over the next five years is immense, he said, adding: "Every time we meet, he is calling for 'more chips.'"

Broadcom, he said, is also requesting "a jaw-dropping volume of memory chips, far beyond what anyone expected." Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told him the company is "continuously checking on chip supply volumes to secure large-scale computing power, beyond just model research," Chey said. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has asked him to "give all the chips to OpenAI and not anyone else," he added.

"The computing power needed this year and next is so enormous that I sometimes wonder whether the projects we have announced might actually fall short," Chey said, reaffirming that demand is extraordinary.

He then outlined three steps for Korea to take the lead in AI. Korea should set a goal of becoming an "AI-native nation" — aiming for every citizen to have at least one AI agent — and position itself as a global testbed for AI, he said.

Korea should also lower AI costs, including token costs, so more people can benefit, and build memory production capacity and AI data center hubs, Chey said. Efforts to minimize the side effects of AI — through establishing AI governance, creating jobs and preserving the environment — must proceed in parallel, he added.

Lee said he is struck every time he visits Silicon Valley by the speed at which AI is transforming lives and the world. "It shows how different a future awaits us depending on how we develop and use AI," he said. "The way humanity works, thinks and lives is changing from the ground up." He said the pace of AI development is extraordinarily fast.

Lee also stressed the importance of global cooperation. "The AI era cannot be opened by the strength of any single company or country alone," he said. "Building a complete ecosystem is essential, as is cross-border global cooperation."

He noted that the United States holds the world's leading AI foundational technologies, platforms and talent, while Korea has unrivaled competitiveness in semiconductors, devices and advanced manufacturing.

"If the strengths of both countries are combined, we will be able to innovate faster, grow bigger and solve more difficult challenges," Lee said. "Samsung will continue to pursue innovation for AI that is safe and enriches human life, in step with the global community. We will do everything in our power so that the next generation growing up in the AI era can dream bigger dreams."

President Lee Jae Myung, in an "AI Declaration" at the event, said South Korea "will leap forward as a core nation in an irreplaceable global AI supply chain." He added that the country will go beyond supply to become the nation that adopts AI most quickly and effectively, creating new markets for shared global growth and serving as a global hub that expands markets worldwide.

Kim Yong-beom, the Cheong Wa Dae policy chief, said in a briefing that domestic companies have agreed to pursue $950 billion in semiconductor cooperation with global big-tech firms — including $750 billion from SK Group and $200 billion from Samsung Electronics.