Issue Korean strength: AI infrastructure linchpin

Summary

KDI identifies Korea's position in AI hardware as its most practical source of leverage. The physical backbone of the AI revolution is semiconductors, with memory at the centre, because training and running AI models require high-bandwidth memory that moves vast amounts of data at great speed. Korea dominates this market, and global AI accelerators from companies such as Nvidia, AMD, Google and Amazon cannot operate without Korean memory. Applying the logic of weaponised interdependence, the report places Korea at a central node of the AI supply chain. It cautions, however, that this leverage depends on partners' trust in Korea's supply stability, political predictability and institutional capacity to honour long-term contracts.