"Even if you cover all of the Saemangeum reclaimed land with solar panels and energy storage systems (ESS), the power is far from enough to run a semiconductor cluster."
Regarding the claim to transfer the Yongin semiconductor cluster to Saemangeum, Yongin Special Mayor Lee Sang-il said this. In response to calls from some in politics to place a power-hungry semiconductor plant in regions that generate a lot of electricity, he noted it is an idea that ignores the basics of energy supply and demand.
On the 7th, in an interview with ChosunBiz, the mayor said, "The average utilization rate of domestic solar power facilities is only 15.4%," and added, "To cover the 15 gigawatts (GW) of power needed for the Yongin semiconductor cluster with solar, the facility scale would have to be at least 97 GW." The Saemangeum reclaimed area is 291㎢, and by this calculation, building such facilities would require 2.9 to 3 times the area of the reclaimed land.
The energy industry shares a similar view. Analyses say that to build a 100 GW-class solar power plant, at least 1,000㎢ of land is needed. While technology development can raise utilization, the consensus is that it cannot be done in the short term.
Even so, calls from the political arena to transfer the Yongin semiconductor cluster to Saemangeum are mounting. As politicians from North Jeolla Province push a "power production site transfer theory," concerns have grown that a core national industrial project could be partitioned or shaken.
On the 8th, the presidential office said, "We are not in a situation of reviewing the transfer of corporations targeted for the semiconductor cluster." However, it added the caveat that "corporation transfers are for corporations to decide," leaving room for interpretation. In effect, it tossed the ball to the private sector.
At a New Year's press briefing on the 9th, the mayor said, "That level of remark will not put to rest the theory of transferring to the provinces," and added, "This is an issue that can only be settled if a clear message of non-transfer comes from the president." He went on, "The Yongin semiconductor project was first proposed by corporations when the national industrial complex was decided in the past."
The Yongin semiconductor cluster is more than a simple industrial complex. The mayor described it as a "thousand-trillion opening." It is a mega-project in which SK hynix will invest 600 trillion won and Samsung Electronics 380 trillion won, meaning it could change Korea's industrial structure and economic landscape.
The government also moved at an unprecedented speed in light of this. In March 2023, 15 candidate sites for national industrial complexes were announced as state projects, but Yongin is the only one to receive government approval. The approval process, which typically takes 4 years and 6 months, was drastically cut to 1 year and 9 months. The project has since progressed rapidly.
Piles 45 meters long have already been driven into the site where semiconductor fabs will be built. The same goes for the planned site for the second fab. The mayor said, "Semiconductor production processes are affected by even small vibrations," and added, "We predrilled piles in consideration of vibrations that could occur during future construction." This means the project has effectively entered an irreversible stage. The following is a Q&A with the mayor.
― You held an emergency press conference on the semiconductor cluster on New Year's Eve.
"In the early hours of Dec. 31 last year, I drafted the statement myself. It is by no means desirable for the nation that confusion surrounding the Yongin semiconductor cluster continues. It is a highly volatile issue that could escalate into regional conflict. I sent a message to the president and the prime minister asking them to quickly resolve this confusion. But in the New Year's address, instead of clearly settling the matter, the president made remarks to the effect of 'please invest in the south.' That is why the theory of transferring to the provinces is not dying down."
─ What do you want from the government?
"The previous administration held seven joint meetings of the 'pan-government task force for promoting national industrial complexes' to check on the creation of national industrial complexes and listen to local opinions, but the current administration, while saying we must revive the economy, has not held even a single task force meeting to manage the 15 national industrial complexes. The central government should not say one thing and do another. As soon as possible, the central government should lead a pan-government review meeting to create and support the 15 complexes."
― How is construction progressing at the Yongin site now?
"At the SK hynix fab site, concrete piles have already been driven 45 meters deep. Three 15-meter piles were joined and driven. Construction for one fab is about halfway done, and pile work is also underway on sites yet to begin. When I asked the builder, they said, 'Because semiconductors involve ultra-fine processes, even slight vibrations cannot be tolerated, so ground stabilization is essential.'"
― The Samsung Electronics site is at a slightly different stage, isn't it?
"Land compensation is in full swing now. It can be seen as the stage of driving the so-called 'third big nail.' The first big nail was government approval at the end of 2024, and the second was Samsung Electronics' signing of a sales contract with LH for industrial facility land in Dec. 2025. Following that, land compensation has already progressed to about 20%. This means the project is already on track."
― Even so, rumors of a transfer of the cluster persist on the grounds of 'securing power.'
"It is nothing but irresponsible agitation by politicians ahead of local elections. Some cite Saemangeum as an alternative, but even if you blanket Saemangeum with solar panels, it is not enough to run the semiconductor cluster. Once SK hynix and Samsung Electronics come in, the total power needed will reach about 15 gigawatts (GW). That is the amount that would require 15 nuclear power plants to run simultaneously."
― Are you saying solar cannot substitute?
"The utilization rate of solar power is around 15.4%. To supply 15 GW, capacity would have to be 97 GW, which would require land about three times the area of the Saemangeum reclaimed site. And solar does not generate at night. To smooth out the jagged output, ESS at enormous cost is essential—who will be responsible for that expense and space?"
― Are there other technical constraints besides power?
"Saemangeum is reclaimed land with very weak ground. In Yongin, if you dig 45 meters you hit bedrock, but in Saemangeum it is uncertain whether bedrock appears even if you dig that deep. It is not land where you can build semiconductor lines that are sensitive to microvibrations. Water supply is also serious. The nearby Juam Dam is tight even for domestic water. If you were to bring a pipeline from the Chungju Dam, the distance alone would be around 200㎞, which is unrealistic."
― You also cannot leave out the talent recruitment issue, the so-called 'southern limit line of industry.'
"That is exactly corporations' biggest concern. The question is whether core talent will actually go there. Also, semiconductors are an agglomeration industry where materials, parts, equipment, and design companies are clustered together. They cluster in one place to reduce time and logistics expense. If you split up the cluster, the ecosystem itself collapses."
― What if transfer discussions gain traction based on political logic?
"Korea's semiconductor industry will collapse. You would have to restart from square one, from the preliminary feasibility study through all administrative procedures, and in that wasted time, China will overtake us. Wrecking the semiconductor industry ultimately ruins Korea's entire economy."
― Compared with overseas cases, where do we stand?
"Look at Taylor, Texas, in the United States. Three months after Samsung Electronics decided to invest, permits were issued, and construction began in seven months. Operations are already starting this year. What about us? We announced national industrial complexes in 2023, but aside from Yongin, none have been properly approved. The government says it will revive the economy, yet it has not even properly convened a single meeting of the industrial complex task force."
― Finally, what would you like to emphasize?
"Industrial complexes in Wanju (hydrogen) and Iksan (food) near Saemangeum still have not received government approval. The order should be to quickly approve and build the previously planned regional complexes first. We must not use the national centennial plan of a semiconductor cluster as a political tool."