South Korea has tripled its national AI budget to 10.1 trillion won ($7.2bn) for 2026, a near-threefold jump from last year's 3.3 trillion won. Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon is driving an 'AI for All' programme giving citizens free unlimited chatbot access, a target of 500 AI-powered factories by 2030, and state-funded training for 11,000 AI specialists. The government's stated aim is to rank among the world's top three AI powers by 2030, positioning South Korea as a benchmark for what aggressive state-backed AI adoption looks like at scale.