South Korea Plans 800 Trillion Won Semiconductor Cluster in Southwest With Four Memory Chip Fabs

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea plans to develop a new semiconductor production base in the country's southwestern region through 800 trillion won ($517.9 billion) in corporate investments that will create four memory chip fabrication plants, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Monday. Kim unveiled the plan to transform the Gwangju and Jeolla regions into the nation's second major semiconductor cluster alongside the existing Seoul metropolitan hub during a national investment briefing chaired by President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae. "Relying on a single production base in the Seoul metropolitan area is no longer sufficient to meet surging semiconductor demand," Kim said, noting constraints on power and water resources limit further expansion under existing plans. The Chungcheong region will be developed into an advanced semiconductor packaging hub through 81 trillion won in investment, while the Daegu and North Gyeongsang regions will be fostered as innovation hubs for semiconductor materials, components, and equipment. The government will help companies accelerate investment by bringing forward construction schedules for new fabrication plants by as much as 12 years, from the mid-to-late 2040s to the mid-2030s, and vowed to streamline permits while investing in electricity and industrial water infrastructure. At the meeting attended by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Kim outlined a government-industry plan to invest 30 trillion won ($19.4 billion) over 15 years to support the entire semiconductor value chain from R&D and chip design to testing and manufacturing.