Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ 8 trillion won investment and a smart city... Sejong’s industrial landscape is changing

[Financial News] Large-scale investments in advanced industries and smart city development projects are taking place one after another in Sejong, the Multifunctional Administrative City. With Samsung Electro-Mechanics embarking on a medium- to long-term investment worth 8 trillion won and development of a smart city on a 3-trillion-won scale also moving ahead, the city’s industrial and residential infrastructure is expected to expand.
According to industry sources on the 30th, Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced last July a medium- to long-term plan to invest about 8 trillion won in its Sejong Plant through 2040. Then, last September, it confirmed a facility investment of 4.27 trillion won to expand production capacity for semiconductor substrates for AI servers.
The investment will expand production facilities for flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA), a high-performance semiconductor package substrate. The investment period runs from September 2026 to May 2028, and the new production line is scheduled to begin mass production in September 2028. It is Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ largest-ever investment for a single product.
Alongside the expansion of production facilities, a development project applying advanced technologies to everyday urban life is also underway. This is the National Smart City Pilot Project being built in the 5-1 Living Area of Hapgang-dong, Sejong City.
The 5-1 Living Area, selected as a national pilot city in 2018, covers approximately 2,744,000 square meters. With a total project cost of 3.1636 trillion won, it will be developed into a future-oriented city combining transportation, housing, healthcare, education and energy.
The lead district is divided into the approximately 170,000-square-meter Smart Living Zone, centered on residential functions, and the approximately 160,000-square-meter Innovative Venture Startup Zone, which combines residential, commercial and business functions. The Innovative Venture Startup Zone is planned as a space to test advanced technologies such as autonomous driving and data technologies in an urban setting.
Car sharing, autonomous driving and demand-responsive transit (DRT) are scheduled to be introduced in stages in the Smart Living Zone. Within the complex, service robots that help deliver goods and carry luggage, as well as patrol robots, will be used. Plans are also underway to connect elevators to support robot deliveries.
Plans also include personalized healthcare, smart farms, smart parking and resource-circulation services. The plan is to establish an AI data hub, Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity systems, and connect a range of everyday services across the city through an integrated app.
The first large-scale apartment development is also planned for the smart city’s lead district. BS Hanyang plans to offer Sejong Smart City L Sujain for sale this November in the 5-1 Living Area of Hapgang-dong, Sejong City.
Development will be handled by a public-private joint special-purpose corporation (SPC) involving Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and Sejong City, among others, while BS Hanyang will carry out construction. As the first large-scale complex to be supplied in the lead district of the national pilot city, it will serve the Smart Living Zone’s residential needs.
The complex will comprise 2,316 units across four blocks—L6, L7, L8 and L11—including 2,191 apartment units and 125 officetel units. All apartments will have an exclusive floor area of 84 square meters. By block, there will be 818 units in L6, 648 in L7, 218 in L8 and 507 in L11.
Plans for the surrounding area include sites for kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools, as well as medical, commercial and office facilities. Parks and green spaces making use of the waterfront environments along the Geum River and Miho River are also planned.
A real estate expert said, “Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ investment and the smart city development project will expand both Sejong’s production base and its capacity to test technologies.” The expert added, “We expect the city’s self-sufficiency to strengthen as advanced industries are added to its administrative functions.”

[email protected] Choi A-young Reporter