President Lee Jae-myung visited Gwangju, selected as the candidate site for a semiconductor plant in Korea's southwestern region, on Tuesday and said, "We will fully review regulations that hinder investment, and we will boldly push forward with fiscal and tax support." His visit to the site the day after the 1,500 trillion won-scale three major mega-projects were announced at the presidential office reflects a strong will to follow through, as he personally pledged to build infrastructure and boldly dismantle regulations.
As Samsung Electronics and SK hynix decided to invest 800 trillion won to build a total of four semiconductor fabs at Gwangju's Cheomdan 3 District and a military airport site, respectively, water supply and power have emerged as the top priorities to resolve. The Gwangju semiconductor cluster is estimated to require 650,000 tons of water per day. To meet this need, swift passage through the National Assembly of the proposed amendment to the Framework Act on Water Management, which includes provisions to prioritize water supply for advanced strategic industries, is urgent. Legislation related to the efficient management of water for advanced industries must also be expedited, including the Water Supply and Waterworks Installation Act, which would shorten the review cycle for the feasibility of the national water supply master plan from five years to two years, as well as the Act on the Promotion and Support of Environmental Technology and Industry.
Since the Gwangju semiconductor plants will require a total of 6.3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, equivalent to 4.5 large nuclear reactors, a smooth power supply is essential. In this respect, it is significant that ruling party lawmakers held a debate on "Tasks for the 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand" that day to discuss power issues such as nuclear energy. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik also said the previous day, "The 12th electricity supply plan will include content on nuclear power," adding, "We will also consider accelerating nuclear plant construction, which takes nine to 10 years," in an unusual emphasis on the need for speedy nuclear expansion.
The day before, President Lee bowed 90 degrees to the corporate leaders who had decided on large-scale investments and praised them as "national heroes." Now it is the government's turn to respond to companies' investment decisions by actively pursuing legislative support to supply the water and power essential to the Honam semiconductor fabs. In particular, it is important to secure stability of power supply by building additional nuclear plants in the southwestern region, in addition to wind and solar power generation. The country must press ahead not only with the continued operation of Hanbit nuclear reactor No. 2, whose design lifespan ends this year, but also with the construction of additional large nuclear plants. The sooner transmission grids or underground cabling projects to deliver electricity produced on the east coast or in South Chungcheong to the southwestern region proceed, the better. We hope that the will of President Lee, who declared that "a speed campaign is the only way to survive," will be swiftly realized in policy implementation and the legislative process.
