President Lee Jae-myung said Tuesday that Samsung Electronics and the SK Group have agreed to pursue semiconductor investment in the southwest region simultaneously with the Yongin semiconductor cluster in Gyeonggi Province.
Speaking at the "National Briefing on the Vision for Advanced Industry Development in the Southwest Region" held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju, Lee referred to Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee and SK Group Chairman Tae-won Choi, explaining, "It seems they had planned to complete the Yongin cluster first and then pursue investment here (the southwest) as the next step, but as semiconductor demand surged, I proposed pursuing them simultaneously, and the two companies agreed."
Lee repeatedly stressed that the southwest region is the optimal site for artificial intelligence (AI) chip production. "What had been neglected has instead become a new opportunity," he said. "Honam's water resource management was a mess and wasted, but through adjustment we can supply up to 1.3 million tons of water per day, and there is renewable energy from the southwest sea and flat land." He then cited Admiral Yi Sun-sin's phrase "No Honam, No Nation," adding, "I will personally oversee the planning and execution and take ultimate responsibility."
Samsung Electronics plans to build large-scale AI chip production facilities in the southwest region, and will also invest approximately 17 trillion won to build an AI data center in Solaseado, Haenam. SK hynix also plans to build a 1GW AI data center in the southwest region.
