Park Hong-keun calls for preemptive large-scale AI investment, 2045 national development strategy

Ministry of Planning and Budget Minister Park Hong-keun said preemptive, large-scale investment using the 2027 budget and a future response fund is needed to address sweeping changes driven by the AI revolution and other transformative forces.

The government also plans to overhaul the local education finance grant system for the first time in 55 years in response to demographic shifts, and to establish a national development strategy targeting 2045 — the centennial of Korea's liberation.

Park delivered a special lecture Monday at Korea University to an audience of about 100 students, professors and graduate students on the theme "The Age of Great Transformation: The Path Forward for South Korea."

He reviewed South Korea's development trajectory — achieving industrialization and democratization within a single generation — and identified semiconductors, K-culture and AI as the key opportunities that will drive the country's next leap forward.

Park said South Korea must become an "irreplaceable nation" at this crossroads of a "civilizational transformation" driven by the AI revolution — one no other country can substitute. To that end, he said the 2027 budget and the future response fund must be actively deployed to pursue large-scale investment ahead of the curve, enabling rapid responses to a new global order.

The government's 2027 budget proposal sets total expenditure at 820.9 trillion won ($610 billion), a 12.8 percent increase from this year and the largest year-on-year spending growth rate in history.

Park also outlined the direction of fiscal structural reform. He said the government will overhaul the local education finance grant system for the first time in 55 years to address anticipated demographic changes. The government also plans to establish a "2045 National Development Strategy" targeting the centennial of liberation to prepare society for the structural transitions it faces.

Before the lecture, Park joined student council members for the "1,000-won breakfast" program at the Korea University student union building, where he listened to students' concerns about living costs — including food, transportation and housing — and gathered suggestions for policy improvements.

The government's next fiscal year budget proposal raises the per-meal subsidy for the 1,000-won breakfast program from 2,000 won to 3,000 won, with the aim of easing the financial burden of university life so young people can focus on their studies and skills development.

After the lecture, Park visited Anam Saenghwal, a youth housing complex near Korea University. The facility is a dormitory-style youth residence created by converting a surplus tourism hotel into student housing, providing stable living spaces for university students, young entrepreneurs, creators and artists.

Park reviewed the facility's operations and the living conditions of its residents, and discussed youth housing support with officials from the operating organization. The Ministry of Planning and Budget said it will continue listening to the difficulties young people face in daily life and to their policy needs, and will expand support that young people can tangibly feel.