South Korea to Merge 5 State-Owned Utilities to Prepare for AI and Chip Power Demand
AI News Brief: South Korea plans to merge five state-owned power companies by October 2027, aiming to accelerate energy investment to meet the surging electricity demand driven by AI and chip manufacturing growth. The move stems from President Lee Jae-myung’s economic growth strategy, which explicitly names semiconductors, physical AI, and large-scale AI data centers as priority investment areas — reflecting the government’s view that the current fragmented power supply structure may not be able to keep pace with the massive investment and buildout speed AI and chip industry expansion requires.