GYEONGJU, South Korea, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to supporting business activities as global companies unveiled plans to invest a combined US$9 billion in South Korea over the next five years, the presidential office said.
Seven companies -- Amazon Web Services (AWS), Renault, Amkor Technology, Corning, Air Liquide, Siemens Healthineers, Umicore -- announced their investment plans at the Global Investment Partnership forum held in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering.
Among them, AWS CEO Matt Garman held a separate meeting with Lee to outline the company's plan to invest about $5 billion by 2031 to establish new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the office said.
Lee welcomed the investment, saying South Korea has been working to establish comprehensive AI infrastructure under the goal of becoming one of the world's top three AI powerhouses.
"Amazon's decision to further invest in large-scale AI data centers will significantly accelerate the development of Korea's AI ecosystem," Lee said.
Garman said the additional commitment, on top of the $4 billion investment plan for AI data centers announced in June, reflects the strong growth potential of the AI sector in South Korea.
"We will be committing to invest $5 billion in additional AI infrastructure here in the country to help grow that technology," Garman said.
The presidential office noted that Amazon's investment represents one of the largest cases of foreign direct investment in South Korea.