South Korea’s moon landing, quantum chips: Seoul bets big on post-AI economy

South Korea is banking on moonshots in a post-AI economy to stem sluggish growth potential amid an ageing population and deepening reliance on its semiconductor exports.From quantum chips and fusion power to a lunar landing, Seoul this week unveiled a strategy to build seven next-generation industries over the coming decades.The aim is to secure a foothold in technologies shaping a post-AI world before superpowers the United States and China pull further ahead.The move marks mounting urgency for a country whose potential growth, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), could fall to a record-low 1.52 per cent next year. Economists also warn that a recent semiconductor export boom is not enough to sustain the economy.The plan, announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources on Wednesday, identifies seven “Strategic Emerging Engines for Disruptive Innovation,” or SEEDs: small modular reactors, nuclear fusion, breakthrough renewable energy, quantum technology, space and aviation, advanced biotechnology and advanced supply chains.It aims to turn the seven areas into major growth industries over the next 10 to 20 years, with President Lee Jae Myung reportedly telling his cabinet “the seeds of advanced technologies we plant today will grow into giant trees in the future”.