Bank of Korea Says AI Chip Boom Is Now A Financial Stability Issue

South Korea’s economy is booming on demand for AI chips, with nominal GDP up 21.9% in the first half of 2026 and semiconductors driving almost 70% of that expansion. According to BeInCrypto, the Bank of Korea says semiconductor exports exceeded 40% of total shipments in some months this year, while real GDP growth forecasts were raised to 3.3%-3.5%. The report also said leveraged ETFs tied to Korean tech names in Hong Kong rose more than 20-fold in the first half of 2026, and warned that a slowdown in AI infrastructure spending in 2027 or 2028 could hit the economy systemically.