The government is set to unveil a national strategy to achieve a major transformation of the country's land use through three "mega projects" — semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI), and data centers — at a public briefing chaired by President Lee Jae-myung on Sunday. Observers expect investment over the next decade to exceed 1,000 trillion won. The plan is expected to include building a second semiconductor cluster in the Honam region, including Gwangju, a physical AI industrial complex in the Yeongnam region, and large-scale data centers in the Chungcheong region. The policy's aim — to achieve balanced national development through bold investment to overcome the concentration of resources in the Seoul metropolitan area — is desirable. For example, if major manufacturers such as automakers and shipbuilders based in the Yeongnam region join hands with physical AI firms, they are expected to secure data and sales channels for developing industrial robots.
However, there is considerable concern that if it degenerates into a region-by-region division of spoils, the fundamental competitiveness of core industries could be undermined. In fact, lawmakers from the North Jeolla region are arguing for dispersed projects, saying there should be no "concentration of semiconductors in Gwangju." Lawmakers from Daegu and North Gyeongsang have also pushed back. As related projects are scattered by region, the possibility of duplicate investment and inefficiency has also been raised. In the case of physical AI, for instance, the plan calls for developing a manufacturing-data-based large action model (LAM) in the southeastern region while building a software platform in North Jeolla. This raises doubts about whether it fits the purpose of an industrial cluster, which maximizes production efficiency by concentrating related companies, universities, and research institutes in one place.
The government must strictly establish principles of economic feasibility, fairness, and transparency so that this mega project does not spill over into regional conflict. In particular, a bottom-up policy approach is required so that the central government is not seen as unilaterally allocating industry-by-industry and region-by-region investment sites to companies. Otherwise, regardless of the facts, it will breed all manner of rumors and conflict. The opposition is already raising suspicions of coercion over the establishment of a semiconductor plant in the Honam region. President Lee rebutted, saying it was "administrative guidance and development administration, not preferential treatment or abuse of authority," but officials on the ground could shrink back from the mere mention of legal risks. The correct sequence is for companies to draw up business plans based on their own autonomous management judgment and search for suitable sites, with the relevant local governments competing fairly. And once a location is chosen, the central government should ease regulations on siting, technology, labor, and the environment, and back it up with fiscal, tax, and financial support.
