Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) will build a new semiconductor cluster in Korea's southwest region with investments of up to 900 trillion won. SK Group will carry out a total of 1,000 trillion won in investments, building artificial intelligence (AI) data centers (DC) in Ulsan, the Honam region, and Gangwon, in addition to a chip fab in Gwangju.
President Lee Jae-myung will preside over a "3 Mega-Projects National Report Meeting," which outlines policies to foster cutting-edge industries, at the Yeongbingwan guesthouse of Cheong Wa Dae on the 29th, Senior Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said on the 28th. Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee and SK Group Chairman Tae-won Choi will attend the meeting and announce large-scale investment plans.
First, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will unveil plans for a southwest semiconductor cluster, building four to six front-end semiconductor fabs in Gwangju. The investment amount is estimated at between 700 trillion and 900 trillion won, depending on the scale of fab expansion. The semiconductor fabs are likely to be located on the site of the Gwangju military airport.
SK Group will announce an investment plan worth 1,000 trillion won, including the Gwangju semiconductor fab, semiconductor investments in the Chungcheong region, and the construction of three to five AI data centers nationwide. Samsung Electronics' investment in the Yongin semiconductor cluster is expected to take longer than SK's, meaning its southwest investment scale will be smaller.
In fact, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan said on Facebook that day that "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will accelerate the Yongin semiconductor cluster by seven years and 12 years respectively, far ahead of the original plan, and begin early production." SK hynix is in the midst of construction on its first Yongin fab, but Samsung Electronics has not yet completed land acquisition for the Yongin cluster, making its investment period inevitably much longer. As SK and Samsung have stated they will significantly accelerate their Yongin semiconductor investments, the government plans to provide one-stop support for permits as well as power and water supply.
To this end, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will present infrastructure support measures on the 29th, ahead of Samsung and SK's investment announcements. For physical AI, which is included as one of the three mega-projects alongside advanced semiconductors and AI data centers, the Ministry of Science and ICT will unveil a plan to create a triangular robot cluster linking Saemangeum, Daegu-North Gyeongsang, and the capital region, along with a plan to build physical AI infrastructure.
