Cheong Wa Dae said on the 29th that, regarding the "Korea's three mega projects" centered on creating a Honam-region semiconductor cluster by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the investment sizes are ▲ 896 trillion won for the Honam region ▲ 392 trillion won for the Chungcheong region ▲ 270 trillion won (provisional) for the Yeongnam region.
Kang Yu-jung, chief presidential spokesperson, said in a media notice that "the figures mentioned in the materials the government released today refer only to local investments among the contents related to the three mega projects (semiconductors, physical AI, AI data centers)," and released to the press a "regional investment plan" compiled from the materials released by the government and the Samsung and SK groups.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, while the government, in line with the aim of "balanced regional development," introduced only investment plans outside the Seoul metropolitan area, the materials distributed by Samsung and SK included investment plans across all sectors, including the metropolitan areas of Yongin and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, a total of 896 trillion won will be invested in Honam, including 800 trillion won in expense to build four semiconductor fabs (production facilities), 87 trillion won for AI data centers, and 8 trillion won for other smart appliances and energy. The specific location has not been finalized.
For the Chungcheong region, the total investment comes to 392 trillion won, consisting of 156 trillion won for semiconductors, 150 trillion won for AI data centers, and 86 trillion won for other areas such as displays, batteries, and bio. For the Yeongnam region, 270 trillion won in total will be invested, including 146 trillion won for AI data centers, 13 trillion won for physical AI, and 111 trillion won for other areas such as automobiles, shipbuilding, aerospace, and energy. However, it added that there could be changes in the process of tallying investment sizes by corporations in the Yeongnam region.
President Lee Jae-myung presided over a public briefing on the day and unveiled a government-led "plan to become an industrial powerhouse with an overwhelming lead" to respond to the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. The amount that Samsung Electronics and SK Group said they would invest in the three mega project areas (semiconductors, physical AI, AI data centers) is at least 4,700 trillion won. To speed up large corporations' regional investments—an essential condition for "balanced development"—the government will support the creation of infrastructure such as power and water and shorten permitting procedures as much as possible.