The government said it will complete power and water infrastructure capable of operating at least two of the four semiconductor fabs planned for the southwestern region by the end of 2029.
Kim Sung-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, appearing on CBS Radio's "Park Sung-tae's News Show" on the 24th, explained, "To supply power to the southwestern semiconductor fabs, we need to newly connect electricity from the middle of the 345㎸ (kilovolt) transmission line running from the Hanbit nuclear plant to the Namgwangju substation, extending it to the Gwangju military airport site." He added, "We have already reviewed the route and plan to proceed with the project immediately after consulting with companies soon."
Kim continued, "Through this, the government's plan is to prepare, by the end of 2029, the power and water supply needed to operate at least one fab each (for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix) among the four fabs by the end of 2029," and said, "This does not appear to be greatly difficult." Building a new 345㎸ transmission line typically takes five years, or up to 10 years at the longest, meaning he intends to complete it by the end of 2029.
Kim also indicated the government is considering the possibility of additional semiconductor fabs being built in the southwestern region. He emphasized, "The Gwangju military airport site where the four semiconductor fabs will be located totals 2.5 million pyeong, which is a very large piece of land big enough to accommodate not just four semiconductor fabs but double that (eight)."
However, when asked whether discussions on additional fab construction are actually underway with companies, Kim said, "We are not yet at that stage." He explained, "A semiconductor fab takes two to three years from the start of construction to completion, but power and water supply takes longer than that, so there could be an issue of how to prepare sufficient power later, considering long-term demand."
Kim also stressed that day that nuclear power is needed to strengthen the competitiveness of industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), steel, and petrochemicals. Kim said, "Korea mainly competes with China in advanced industries, and China's industrial electricity rate is in the 120 won range per kWh (kilowatt-hour), while Korea's is in the 180 won range." He added, "In this situation, if we turn off coal-fired power generation and rely entirely on renewable energy, our electricity rates could surge sharply to levels close to Germany's, making industrial competition difficult." Germany, which pursued a nuclear phase-out policy, has an industrial electricity rate of about 320 won per kWh (kilowatt-hour).
