Lee pointed to the Yongin industrial complex as an example of how long large-scale developments can take, noting that it required six years to move from site approval to groundbreaking despite being viewed as a relatively fast project. He called for environmental reviews and other approval processes to be streamlined where possible, while urging officials to handle procedures in parallel instead of one after another.
He also emphasized the importance of infrastructure planning, particularly reliable electricity and water supplies for semiconductor manufacturing. Lee said companies had expressed concerns about baseload power availability despite expanded renewable energy capacity and instructed officials to resolve those issues before they become obstacles.
The push follows South Korea’s announcement last week of more than $576 billion in investments focused on semiconductor and AI development. The initiative is intended to strengthen the country’s position in advanced industries while supporting growth beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.
Under the investment plan, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will each invest 400 trillion won ($260 billion) to build new semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the southwest of the country. An additional 81 trillion won is expected to be invested in a semiconductor packaging cluster in the Chungcheong region.
Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said the new semiconductor cluster planned for South Korea’s southwest will be built at the site of a military airport in Gwangju. Discussions include locating facilities for both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix at the site.
Samsung Electronics declined to comment, while SK Hynix was not immediately available for comment.
This analysis is based on reporting from Yahoo Finance.
Image courtesy of PBS.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
