President Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday that Samsung's decision to invest in the Chungcheong region "brought to mind the historic moment when the late Chairman Lee Byung-chull declared entry into the semiconductor industry in Tokyo in 1983," adding, "I am confident that Chairman Lee Jae-yong's decision will lead a new leap forward for Korea's advanced industries."
Speaking at the "Chungcheong Region Advanced Industry Development Vision National Report Session" held in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, the president said, "With the large-scale investments by companies as a turning point, and particularly through the production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) enabled by Samsung's decision, Chungcheong's status as a hub of advanced industry will be further strengthened."
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, companies including Samsung, SK hynix and Celltrion will invest approximately 392 trillion won in the Chungcheong region. Samsung announced that day that it would invest approximately 140 trillion won to build HBM fabs in Onyang and Cheonan and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lines in Asan and Cheonan. SK hynix will invest approximately 100 trillion won in NAND and packaging centered on Cheongju, while Celltrion Pharmaceutical, headquartered in Cheongju, will invest approximately 2 trillion won in production facilities and other areas.
As the president mentioned the "Tokyo Declaration," Chairman Lee nodded repeatedly, appearing to share the sentiment. Chairman Lee said, "I will devote my full effort to a great leap toward becoming an industrial powerhouse with an unrivaled edge."
Regarding claims raised in political circles that large corporations had been pressured, the president said, "The very idea that you can move companies by applying pressure, based on the thinking of the era of government-directed administration, is outdated," adding, "In today's world, where is there a case of a company relocating because pressure was applied?"
He countered, "It is the job of government and politics to create incentives so that companies make their own judgments." At the senior secretaries' meeting that day, the president also stressed that this was "not a favor to the provinces, but the driving force to transform the entire nation into a Korean version of Silicon Valley."
The government plans to operate a "Chungcheong Region Advanced Strategic Industry Great Leap Task Force (TF)" to prepare a comprehensive support plan within 100 days and to provide integrated support for permits, land, electricity and water.
