AFP, Seoul

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics is expected to announce a record domestic investment plan next week, according to local media reports, in a massive bet on AI-driven semiconductor demand.

The 1,000 trillion won ($650 billion) package, to be announced by the chip giant and the government, is in line with President Lee Jae Myung’s agenda for development in regions outside of the capital Seoul.

Lee will host a “National Mega Project” briefing on Monday, where Samsung will unveil major long-term investment plans, the reports said.

Rival chipmaker SK hynix is also expected to announce spending plans at the same event. Both companies are top producers of advanced memory chips used in the data centres that train and run artificial intelligence tools like chatbots and image generators.

The AI boom has sent the firms’ profits and share prices skyrocketing, with Samsung recently agreeing a bonus deal with its workers’ union to avert a major strike.

The Samsung investment package is expected to include about 300 trillion won for a new semiconductor complex in southwest South Korea -- one of the regions that has fallen behind the capital in tech investment.

Some 60 trillion won would likely be earmarked for six chip manufacturing plants at Yongin in the south, and more than 350 trillion won for AI infrastructure including data centres, according to Maeil Business Newspaper.