President Lee: "Living Conditions in Industrial Complexes Key to Mega Projects' Success"

President Lee Jae-myung stated regarding the government's "three major mega projects," which include the establishment of a semiconductor industrial complex in the southwestern region, that "creating favorable living conditions is key to the success of the projects."

During his opening remarks at the "3rd Public-Private Joint Review Meeting on Mega Projects" presided over at the Blue House, President Lee noted, "The ultimate goal of the mega projects is to have young people and talented individuals flock to regional areas in search of jobs, and to ensure that all regions and citizens evenly share the benefits of growth."

President Lee explained, "To achieve this, we must not simply construct industrial complexes, but create a new regional development model that harmonizes high-tech industries with housing, education, healthcare, and culture."

He emphasized in particular, "Taking a lesson from the case of innovation cities where family relocation rates were low due to inadequate living conditions, we must promote the establishment of industrial complexes and living conditions bundled together as a single plan from the project's inception stage."

He added, "We must first identify what is needed not only from the perspective of employees who will work at companies, but also from that of their families, and devise support measures," urging, "Companies should also actively voice their opinions to reflect their support needs."

Regarding the demands of local residents, he added, "It is important to give residents faith that the growth of advanced strategic industries in their region will change their lives. We must provide sufficient education and training opportunities so that regional youth and students can share in job opportunities, and we must also establish win-win cooperation measures for local small and medium-sized enterprises and small merchants."

President Lee went on to say, "Today's meeting is the first since the new position of presidential advisor for national strategic investment dedicated to mega projects was created at the Blue House. Please move faster as one team centered around this dedicated organization."

He reiterated, "With a sense of mission that the future of the Republic of Korea depends on the success of the three major mega projects, we must do our utmost to ensure that the plans proceed without a hitch."

President Lee assessed, "First, the southern semiconductor belt expands the semiconductor growth model from the capital area to the entire nation, and it is important to organically connect regional strengths—Honam as a production hub, Yeongnam as a materials, parts, and equipment hub, and Chungcheong for advanced packaging."

He said, "To ensure that investments are not delayed, we must manage the overall timeline together and clearly delineate each party's responsibilities. We need to identify any potential causes of delay in advance and devise solutions."

He also instructed, "For physical AI and AI data centers, we must speed up technological development and infrastructure construction to deliver tangible outcomes that citizens can feel. For physical AI, we should lead market creation by significantly expanding its verification and application in the public sector, and for AI data centers, please draw up plans to ensure practical benefits flow back to local communities."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.