President Lee Says He Received Promises from Lee Jae-yong and Choi Tae-won to Pursue Southwestern Region and Yongin Projects at the Same Time

[Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung said on the 30th that he had received promises from Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK hynix Chairman Choi Tae-won, who announced a semiconductor investment plan worth 800 trillion won in the Southwestern Region, to push ahead simultaneously with the creation of semiconductor clusters in Honam and Yongin.
At the public briefing on the development vision for advanced industries in the Southwestern Region, held that day at the Kim Daejung Convention Center in Gwangju, President Lee said, "I had already received such promises in advance from Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics and Chairman Choi of SK."
He added, "It seems they originally planned to do it in sequence. It looked like they wanted to finish Yongin first and then move on to the next stage, so that would have been the basic plan. But demand is surging so sharply right now that I asked them to push ahead at the same time." When he then asked, "You agree, right?" Jeon Young-hyun, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Kwak Noh-jung, CEO of SK hynix, who were attending the briefing, stood up, applauded, and greeted him.
President Lee stressed, "As I promised, I will personally oversee execution, planning, overall management, and final responsibility." He added, "I will check directly how quickly this can be carried out and show you. That is why I want the projects in Yongin and the Southwestern Region to move forward at the same time, so that people in this region can clearly see that this is not a political show or a publicity stunt, but something real."
Earlier, on the 29th, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix announced a massive investment plan to build four semiconductor fabs, two each, in the newly launched Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City, with a combined investment of 800 trillion won. Amkor Technology Korea, a semiconductor back-end process company, will also invest 1 trillion won.
Regarding the site selection for the semiconductor cluster in the Southwestern Region, he said, "What is clear is that this will follow economic principles." He explained, "With the development of the artificial intelligence industry, memory chips have become critically short in supply, and demand has recently surged. In the end, additional expansion is necessary." He added, "The Seoul metropolitan area has already entered a situation where existing resources are running short and overcrowding has worsened, but especially in terms of water and power, the problems have become impossible to solve."
He continued, "With the existing power grid and transmission and distribution network, it is simply impossible to secure additional electricity. We cannot build a nuclear power plant there either, and the water supply problem is also serious." He said, "The Gwangju and South Jeolla Province area has become the only region capable of solving this problem." He also pointed to its capacity for renewable energy supply, as well as favorable conditions for water and land.
In a separate written congratulatory message, President Lee referred to the phrase "Without Honam, there is no nation," written by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and emphasized that "discrimination against Honam created new opportunities." He added, "Looking back, the Southwestern Region was already prepared land," and said, "I will regard this as a historical and national reward for Honam, which endured the pain and sorrow of discrimination without any compensation or return and helped build and defend the Republic of Korea's democracy, and I will make sure it succeeds without any setbacks."
He also said, "I became president as a politician from the Democratic Party, and as president I believe I must plan policies for all of South Korea and aim for the whole country. Of course, I will not give up the basic values, ideals, and aspirations I hold." He added, "The two must be well balanced."
cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun Reporter