President Lee Jae-myung Holds Public Briefing in Gwangju: "Honam Investment Based on Economic Principles"

[Anchor]

With Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix announcing plans to establish an 800 trillion won semiconductor base in the Honam region, President Lee Jae-myung presided over a public briefing in Gwangju, a candidate site for the project. He stated that he is determined to realize this large-scale investment in Honam to prove that it is not merely a political show.

Reporter Kang Min-u reports.

[Reporter]

At the public briefing held in Gwangju yesterday (June 30), specific details of the investment plan for the Honam region, previously announced as part of the three major mega-projects totaling 896 trillion won, were unveiled.

The plan involves investments of 470 trillion won from SK, 425 trillion won from Samsung Electronics, and 1 trillion won from Amkor to build semiconductor memory plants, packaging facilities, AI data centers, and computing centers.

President Lee Jae-myung remarked that the slow development of the Honam region due to past regional disparities has paradoxically turned its remaining land and water resources into competitive advantages for investment.

[President Lee Jae-myung: What is clear is this. This is based on economic principles.]

During a Cabinet meeting, President Lee also emphasized, "It is true that the investment in Honam appears to be somewhat large when looking at this issue alone, but when compared to the cumulative investment volume accumulated historically, it is merely a drop in the bucket."

President Lee explained why Samsung and SK changed their initial plans to build additional complexes only after completing the semiconductor cluster in Yongin.

[President Lee Jae-myung: Since demand is currently skyrocketing, I suggested we proceed simultaneously, and they agreed, right? I encouraged them—or to put it more strongly, I induced them—so they could make large-scale investments. I did not use coercion or pressure.]

President Lee stated that he would personally chair the "Special Committee on Semiconductors" to be launched in August, adding that he would certainly prove this project is not just another common "policy show" by politicians.

President Lee is scheduled to visit Asan, South Chungcheong Province, tomorrow (July 1) and Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, in three days to announce advanced industrial development strategies for the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions, respectively.

Reported by Jeong Sang-bo and Yoon Hyung | Video by Lee Seung-hee | Graphics by Jegal Chan
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.