Samsung is pushing forward with plans to build a semiconductor manufacturing facility, or fab, for memory chips in the Gwangju-Jeonnam region.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended the National Report on the Three Major Mega Projects for Korea's Great Leap Forward, presided over by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House today (June 29), and announced the plan to establish a memory fab in the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special City.

Chairman Lee began by noting that the technological paradigm is shifting at an unimaginable speed due to AI, stating, "The market view is that despite active investments by semiconductor companies, it is still insufficient to meet the explosive demand."

He then mentioned that following investments in Giheung, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek, the schedule for the Yongin National Industrial Complex has been significantly accelerated, which in turn has moved up the timeline for preparing new sites. He then brought up Gwangju, which President Lee Jae-myung had previously mentioned.

[Interview] Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics: "Among various regions, we are planning to designate Gwangju as a candidate site, as we expect many incentives such as power, water supply, human resources, and other infrastructure support."

Chairman Lee also stated that the High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) fab, along with existing semiconductor back-end process fabs, will be concentrated in the Chungcheong region, including Cheonan and Onyang.

He added that the Samsung Group's internal AI data centers (DC) and humanoid robots will be invested in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, while batteries for Samsung SDI's all-solid-state batteries and Energy Storage Systems (ESS) will be centered in South Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan.

The company also plans to continue investing in the next-generation shipbuilding industry in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics will expand investment in cutting-edge package substrates for servers and electric vehicles, centered on its Busan plant, while the strategic bio industry will be concentrated in Songdo, Incheon.

Chairman Lee also stated that he intends to grow Songdo into the world's largest bio cluster.

"I am convinced that if companies, the government, and local municipalities join forces, we can create an irreplaceable Republic of Korea," Chairman Lee concluded. "As a business leader, I am honored to contribute to this effort."

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Seo Byeong-wook | Graphics by Lee Soo-min | Produced by SBS Digital News