[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung has instructed that the functions of the Gwangju Military Airport, designated as the site for a Honam semiconductor plant, be temporarily relocated to another base by mid-2028. The directive underscores his emphasis on speed, aiming to accelerate the pursuit of the three major mega-projects for semiconductor and AI investment.

This is reported by Kang Cheongwan.

[Reporter]

Presiding over the 2nd Public-Private Joint Inspection Meeting on Mega-Projects at the Blue House, President Lee Jae-myung emphasized that fast execution is of the utmost importance regarding the three major mega-projects, which involve large-scale investments in semiconductors and AI.

[President Lee Jae-myung: We are in a situation where we must wage a blitzkrieg, going beyond a speed war.]

In particular, singling out the Honam region—one of the three candidate regions alongside Yeongnam and Chungcheong—where a large-scale semiconductor complex is set to be established, he stated that he hopes the project will be executed as swiftly as the semiconductor complex in Kumamoto, Japan.

To achieve this, he also ordered the prompt relocation of the Gwangju Military Airport functions, which have been designated as the site for the Honam semiconductor complex.

[President Lee Jae-myung: The Ministry of National Defense should temporarily relocate the functions of the Gwangju base to another military airport by mid-2028 so that the Gwangju Military Airport site can be utilized early on as a semiconductor industrial complex....]

Because the Gwangju Military Airport is a South Korea-U.S. jointly operated base where U.S. Air Force assets deploy in times of contingency, consultations with U.S. Forces Korea are necessary for the relocation.

President Lee urged relevant ministries to do their utmost to enable the early commencement of construction on an industrial complex in a nearby area even before the temporary relocation, prepare plans for power and water supply, and communicate closely with the National Assembly to accelerate the enactment and amendment of related laws.

President Lee also requested that preemptive measures be established to prevent polarization—often referred to as 'K-shaped growth'—during the implementation of the mega-projects. Addressing Kim Yong-kwan, President of Samsung Electronics, and Jung Seung-il, President in charge of Future Growth at SK, who attended the meeting, he said, "Please pay special attention to win-win activities."

(Video by Jeong Sang-bo and Yoon Hyeong, Video Editing by Wi Won-yang)