Seoul, Jan 29: South Korea’s science ministry on Thursday unveiled the road map to foster the quantum industry, aiming to become the world’s top quantum chip producer by 2035. The government will designate five locations by July to establish what it calls “quantum clusters” that will lead the country’s quantum transformation, the ministry added. “Quantum technology is a formidable innovation that will determine a nation’s competitiveness in the post-AI era,” Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said in a release. Major South Korean firms, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and SK Telecom Co., additionally launched a quantum technology consultative body to discuss cooperation, the ministry said. In the science and technology sector, the government will increase spending in future technologies such as biotechnology and quantum science, while strengthening core technologies to secure a competitive edge in key industries, including semiconductors and secondary batteries, it said.