[Anchor]

A large-scale corporate investment plan, dubbed the "Three Mega-Projects," will be unveiled at a national briefing presided over by President Lee Jae-myung next Monday. Attention is particularly focused on the creation of a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, though there are many challenges to overcome.

Reporter Jeong Seong-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

Kim Yong-beom, Chief of Policy at the Presidential Office, announced today (June 26) that the three mega-projects consist of semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI.

Regional investments are expected to be pursued, with semiconductors in the Honam region, AI data centers in the Chungcheong and Gangwon regions, and physical AI in the Yeongnam region.

[Kim Yong-beom/Chief of Policy at the Presidential Office (YouTube 'Kim Ou-joon's Humility is Hard, News Factory'): This is an opportunity to explain the programs that the government and companies have worked together to create, and the figures that will be presented will likely be very unfamiliar.]

In particular, plans are being reviewed for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to establish the entire process from production to packaging at the Honam semiconductor cluster.

The investment is expected to reach 500 trillion won.

As this would effectively be the first large-scale, high-tech semiconductor production base outside the Seoul metropolitan area, building the necessary infrastructure is the biggest challenge.

A single semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) requires over 1GW of power, equivalent to the output of one nuclear power plant, and a stable, 24-hour power supply is essential due to the nature of the manufacturing process.

While the Honam region has a power self-sufficiency rate exceeding 200% and a surplus of electricity, half of its production facilities rely on renewable energy such as solar and wind power, which are significantly affected by weather conditions.

[Yoo Seung-hoon/Professor of Future Energy Convergence, Seoul National University of Science and Technology: Semiconductor plants can only be built with confidence if natural gas power generation and the restart of aging nuclear power plants are combined.]

Securing high-level talent is also a task.

As the southern Gyeonggi region, including Pyeongtaek and Icheon, is often called the "southern limit line for employment," efforts to improve living conditions to attract talent and programs to cultivate talent locally must be carried out simultaneously.

[Lee Jong-hwan/Professor of System Semiconductor Engineering, Sangmyung University: Whether through industrial cooperation or the creation of contract departments, it is very important to link with local universities to train the workforce.]

Building an ecosystem of suppliers, including materials, parts, and equipment companies, is also key to success.

The government plans to provide up to 100% support for infrastructure costs such as power through the Special Act on Semiconductors, which will take effect in August, and also intends to improve living conditions, including housing and education.

(Video Editing: Shin Se-eun, Design: Choi Jae-young)