As political sparring continues over semiconductor facility investments in Honam by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources assessed the southwest region as a "competitive candidate site."
On the 28th, the Minister said in a Facebook post, "I understand the southwest region, which has a high power self-sufficiency rate, abundant water, and strong research and talent bases such as Chonnam National University, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), and Korea Institute of Energy Technology, has been evaluated as a competitive candidate site."
He emphasized that while corporations are accelerating the Yongin semiconductor cluster, they need to increase investment further to secure competitiveness. The Minister said, "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix also decided to build the Yongin cluster much earlier than originally planned," adding, "Samsung Electronics plans to begin production seven years early, and SK hynix plans to do so 12 years early."
He went on, "Corporations have long judged that it would be difficult to fully respond to future global demand and competition with only the Yongin cluster," explaining, "Given the high land expense and limited infrastructure conditions in the greater Seoul area, the provinces have become a realistic alternative."
The Minister said, "This corporate decision is not simply about building a single fab," adding, "It is a national project to narrow the gap between the greater Seoul area and the provinces and to build a new growth base for the southwest region that was left behind in the industrialization process."
He also cited Taiwan. He noted that TSMC expanded its production base from the Hsinchu Science Park in the north to Kaohsiung in the south, saying, "As the south has grown to the point of surpassing the north, it is achieving both stronger competitiveness and balanced development," and added, "The distance between Hsinchu and Kaohsiung is about 230 kilometers, which is not much different from the distance between Yongin and Gwangju."
The Minister said, "What is important now is to connect the corporations' strategic decision to success," adding, "The government will swiftly support all infrastructure such as sites, power, water, and roads, and will work closely with local governments on permits so corporations can focus solely on investment."