The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said it will reliably back power supply for the semiconductor clusters in Yongin and the Honam region. It plans to sign power supply agreements soon and will also review extending the period allowed for continued operation of nuclear plants.
Minister Kim Sung-hwan said at a full session of the National Assembly Climate, Energy and Environment and Labor Committee on the 11th, "Whether in Yongin or Honam, we will take responsibility to ensure there are no cases where construction of semiconductor fabs cannot proceed because power is delayed."
Under plans set in 2024, power for the Yongin national industrial complex (Samsung Electronics to move in) will be supplied in three phases. In phase one, Korea East-West Power, Korea Southern Power and Korea Western Power will each build a 1-gigawatt (GW) liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to supply a total of 3 GW, effectively shifting capacity from the closure of coal plants in South Chungcheong to Yongin. Phase two is building new transmission lines connecting Honam and Yongin, and phase three addresses demand that could increase after 2044.
For the Yongin general industrial complex where SK hynix will be located, phase one will lay transmission lines connecting the Sin Anseong substation to the East Yongin substation, and phase two will build transmission lines connecting the East Sea coast to Yongin along with a new substation within the complex.
Minister Kim explained, "For SK hynix's power supply in the Yongin area, the agreements are largely concluded, and for Samsung Electronics, rather than a delay in power supply, there were holdups in the land development process as land purchases for creating the national industrial complex are underway."
He added, "As soon as the land is prepared, phase-one LNG plants can break ground at any time," and "there will soon be agreements for Yongin phases two and three."
Regarding the Honam semiconductor cluster, the ministry also plans to review extending the allowable period for continued operation of nuclear plants. When Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party said, "Let's increase the period from the current 10 years to 20 years and calculate it from the date the design life expires to effectively extend the operating period," Minister Kim replied, "We will review which is more reasonable, 10 years or 20 years. We will proceed so that issues such as the need to upgrade to the latest equipment during the extension can be properly taken into account."