Semiconductors, Physical AI, and Data Centers: A Three-Pillar Shift in Korea's Industrial Landscape

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With mega-projects centered on semiconductors, physical AI, and data centers, South Korea's future industrial landscape is set for a complete transformation.

Reporter Park Jaehyeon outlines which industries will be established in which regions.

[Reporter]

The most notable development is the establishment of a memory chip manufacturing hub in the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, which is set to launch next month.

A total of 800 trillion won will be invested to build four memory chip fabrication plants, including two for Samsung Electronics and two for SK Hynix.

The Yeongnam region will be cultivated as a hub for materials, parts, and equipment, leveraging its existing semiconductor industrial base.

While specific investment figures were not disclosed, the region is expected to become an innovation hub for promising technologies, such as semiconductor supply chain hubs and power semiconductors.

The Chungcheong region has been designated as the hub for advanced packaging, the back-end process of cutting and wiring semiconductors to mount them onto substrates.

Samsung and SK Hynix plan to invest an additional 81 trillion won to build more packaging plants.

The government's plan is to secure an undisputed lead in memory chips by expanding semiconductor hubs nationwide and accelerating the completion of the six Samsung Electronics plants and four SK Hynix plants currently under construction in Yongin by 7 and 12 years, respectively.

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The hub for physical AI and robotics will be located in Saemangeum and the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region.

Saemangeum will host a robot manufacturing plant and parts complex led by Hyundai Motor Company, and the government will provide support to help automotive and home appliance parts companies in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region transition into robot parts manufacturers.

The goal is to become the world leader in physical AI by 2030 through abundant manufacturing infrastructure and training data management.

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For AI data centers, three companies—SK, Naver, and GS—plan to invest 550 trillion won by 2029 to build facilities in Ulsan, the East Sea region, and Sejong, with plans to eventually expand the investment to 1 quadrillion won.

[Bae Kyung-hoon / Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT: There will clearly be various effects, including direct economic impacts, job creation through large-scale capital investment, and the emergence of leading solution companies.]

To create locations that meet corporate needs, the government has decided to significantly ease related regulations and procedures, and to actively support the development of living conditions and transportation infrastructure in those regions.

The move is seen as an attempt to achieve two goals simultaneously: balanced national development and the cultivation of next-generation industries, by completely restructuring South Korea's industrial map around high-tech future industries.

Reported by Park Jaehyeon | Video by Kim Jun-hee | Graphics by Jang Chae-woo
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.