Koo Yun-cheol, deputy prime minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said on the 28th that the government will provide full support for regional investment ahead of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix announcing semiconductor facility investments in Honam.
Koo said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) the same day, "We are now in a life-or-death era of global competition for supremacy in advanced industries, and to secure an overwhelming lead, we need to mobilize all national capabilities, including talent, resources and land." He added, "Above all, the key task is to break away from the saturated, capital area–centric, single-core system and unleash the potential of the regions," noting, "In the end, the decisive battleground for an overwhelming lead is 'the regions.'"
Koo said, "In particular, to lead the future global semiconductor ecosystem in the midst of a semiconductor supercycle, we need to go beyond rowing when the tide comes in and build bigger ships in many places," adding, "We must push comprehensively to expand future semiconductor production bases even in regions where energy production and consumption locally (jisan jiso: produced and consumed in the region) is possible."
He explained that without active government support for factors such as location, power and water, corporations would inevitably have had to turn abroad. He then said, "We will provide full support by activating an all-of-government support system so that hard-won regional investments can quickly bear fruit."
Koo also noted the need to secure an overwhelming lead not only in semiconductors but in a range of advanced industries such as physical artificial intelligence (AI), AI data centers and green energy, saying, "We will soon unveil the 'five hubs and three special growth engines' to achieve a grand transformation of national space by maximizing each region's distinct character and capabilities."
Meanwhile, President Lee Jae-myung said the same day, "Building a semiconductor industry ecosystem in Honam is not special treatment for a particular region," adding, "Debate fiercely over a Honam site for semiconductors, but if there are reasonable grounds, please cooperate, and refrain from using regional wedge tactics or fomenting regional conflict for political purposes."