Three Mega-Projects Announced: Key Challenges for 'Honam Semiconductor' Cluster

[Anchor]

A large-scale corporate investment plan, dubbed the "Three Mega-Projects," will be unveiled at a national report meeting 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]

The three mega-projects announced today, June 26, by Kim Yong-beom, Chief of Staff for Policy at the Presidential Office, are semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI.

Investments are expected to be centered regionally, with semiconductors in Honam, AI data centers in Chungcheong and Gangwon, and physical AI in the Yeongnam region.

[Kim Yong-beom/Chief of Staff for 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, for the Honam semiconductor cluster, a plan is being reviewed for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to establish the entire process, from production to packaging.

The investment scale is expected to reach 500 trillion won.

As this would effectively be the first large-scale advanced semiconductor production base outside the Seoul metropolitan area, infrastructure construction is the biggest challenge.

A single semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) requires more than 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 Honam has a power self-sufficiency rate of over 200% and a surplus of electricity, half of its production facilities are based on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, which are heavily influenced by weather conditions.

[Yoo Seung-hoon/Professor of Future Energy Convergence, Seoul National University of Science and Technology: "Semiconductor companies can only feel secure enough to build factories if natural gas power generation is combined with the restart of aging nuclear power plants."]

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 take place simultaneously.

[Lee Jong-hwan/Professor of System Semiconductor Engineering, Sangmyung University: "Whether through industrial cooperation or the creation of contract departments, it will be very important to link with local universities to foster human resources."]

Building an ecosystem of partner companies, including those in materials, components, and equipment, 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 this coming August, and also intends to improve living conditions, including housing and education.

Reported by Jeong Seong-jin | Video by Shin Se-eun | Graphics by Choi Jae-young
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.