"Where Will the 650,000 Tons of Daily Water Come From?" and "What About Electricity?"... Will Supply Concerns Be Resolved?

[Anchor]

Semiconductor manufacturing requires massive amounts of water throughout the entire production process, and even a one-second power outage can cause significant damage. The government has announced that it will supply water and electricity without disruption to the Honam region, where a new semiconductor production base is set to be built.

Climate and Environment Specialist Reporter Jang Se-man examines whether these concerns over supply shortages can be addressed.

[Reporter]

The government plans to supply 650,000 tons of water per day to the semiconductor fabs in the southwestern region, which is about 43 percent of the volume required for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster currently under construction.

[Kim Sung-hwan / Minister of Climate and Environment: We will ensure that 650,000 tons of water can be supplied on time and without any setbacks.]

Currently, among the dams in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, only the Jangheung Dam and Juam Dam have a combined surplus of about 150,000 tons.

The government explains that by including plans to convert 100,000 tons of water from the Boseong River Dam—a power generation-only dam located on a tributary of the Seomjin River—into industrial water, the 650,000-ton supply target can be met.

[Yoon Seok-dae / CEO of K-water: If necessary, we can consult with the Ministry of Climate and Environment to raise the height of some dams to secure additional surplus capacity.]

However, concerns about water shortages remain significant.

Experts point out that while it may be easy to repurpose power generation dams like the Boseong River Dam, it is not easy to convert other dams because their water is already allocated for agricultural or residential use.

[Yoo Chul-sang / Professor at Korea University (President of the Korea Water Resources Association): (Unlike power generation dams) the water supply methods themselves are very different, and the necessary infrastructure for supply is not in place, so I do not think this is a simple matter to resolve in a short period of time.]

Previously, the Ministry of Environment, the predecessor to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, had diagnosed as recently as 2023 that the Honam region was exposed to severe water shortages and drought risks.

Power supply is another hurdle that must be overcome.

The government plans to supply 6.3 gigawatts of power to the Honam region, centered on renewable energy and nuclear power.

While the Honam region is rich in renewable energy such as solar and wind power, the high variability of power supply depending on weather conditions means that large-scale additional costs for Energy Storage Systems (ESS) may be required to compensate for these fluctuations.

There are six units at the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province. Unit 1 has already ceased operations as its design life has expired, and Unit 2 is scheduled to stop operating this coming September.

Regarding concerns over water shortages, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik stated, "The government is not incompetent enough to make such an announcement without verifying those details," and regarding the power shortage controversy, he added, "We will also review plans to shorten the construction period for new nuclear power plants."

(Video Editing: Yoon Tae-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.