South Korea plans to channel additional tax revenue generated by its booming semiconductor industry to invest in new growth engines.

A top government official on Sunday said the aim was to support younger generations and address widening inequality, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Why is South Korea creating a future fund?

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said the "Future Response Fund" would help finance major national investment projects and strengthen the country's long-term competitiveness.

Speaking at a meeting between the government and the ruling Democratic Party, Kang said South Korea should not "squander" the extra tax revenue generated by the semiconductor boom.

He said the fund would support the government's three "mega projects," referring to large-scale investments in semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers.

The aim was to create new growth drivers and respond to what he described as "K-shaped" economic polarization, he said. It would provide housing as well as startup and employment support for people in their 20s and 30s.

"The three megaprojects mark the beginning of a new balanced national development paradigm based on cooperation between the private and public sectors," Kang said.

Kang described the fund as "a cornerstone" of President Lee Jae Myung's goal of making South Korea globally "irreplaceable."

The government says the projects, backed by planned investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars from Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and public agencies, are intended to strengthen South Korea's leadership in chipmaking and AI while promoting economic growth beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.

Prime Minister Han Sung-sook noted that the project would help open a new era of growth for the country comparable to vehicle expressways and high-speed digital networks in the past.

"If the party, the government and the presidential office work as a single team, we can create fruitful results," Han said.