South Korea Doubles AI Chip Budget: 4 ETFs to Ride the Wave

South Korea's president Lee Jae Myung unveiled the country's largest-ever budget on Monday, raising total spending by 12.8% to 820.9 trillion won (nearly $610.14 billion), with 21.3 trillion won earmarked for semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers — nearly double the 2026 level. A separate 4.7 trillion won will fund a sovereign AI model targeting "world's highest performance," alongside training for 2,000 semiconductor design specialists and expanded AI education. South Korea's increased investment commitment comes amid a surge in semiconductor exports, with October shipments jumping 93.7% year over year to a record $115.3 billion and cumulative exports surpassing $900 billion for the first time.