Gwangju Special City goes all out to improve living conditions for Honam semiconductor cluster; comprehensive strategy to be drawn up by year-end

【Financial News, Jeonnam-Gwangju = Hwang Tae-jong】 Hwang Gi-yeon, Deputy Mayor for Administrative and Cultural Affairs of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju Special City), said on the 6th, “I will proactively expand infrastructure for all aspects of daily life—including housing, education, transportation, healthcare and culture—for the Honam semiconductor cluster, and build a competitive semiconductor city to live in, where work and life are in harmony.”
Deputy Mayor for Administrative and Cultural Affairs Hwang Gi-yeon chaired an internal strategy meeting of the Task Force on Improving Living Conditions in the Semiconductor City that day in the main conference room of the Gwangju government building. He said, “For the Honam semiconductor cluster to succeed, it is important not only to develop industrial complexes but also to create a comprehensive living environment where companies, outstanding talent and their families can put down roots in the region.”
The “Living Conditions Strategy Meeting” was held to identify projects in various fields to improve living conditions and establish a practical basis for implementation, so that companies, workers and their families moving to Jeonnam-Gwangju as the Honam semiconductor cluster takes shape can settle there securely. Twenty-five people, including the Director for Semiconductor Industry Support Policy, the head of the Metropolitan City Bureau and other relevant bureau and department heads, attended. They shared existing and new project proposals submitted by their respective offices and discussed how to identify and pursue initiatives to improve living conditions.
The participants reviewed candidate projects across all aspects of living conditions, particularly housing, education, transportation, healthcare and everyday-life infrastructure (SOC). They agreed to focus not merely on expanding facilities, but on improving the living environment in ways that semiconductor companies and workers can actually experience.
They also shared the relevant bureaus’ and departments’ reviews and action plans regarding Samsung Electronics’ requests concerning three key areas of living conditions—education, transportation and water supply—and discussed various ways to expand and improve the infrastructure companies need for their employees to settle in the area.
Deputy Mayor Hwang said, “We plan to flesh out the proposals discussed at this meeting after consulting external experts in each field, and draw up a strategy to improve living conditions by the end of this year. Next year, we will comprehensively review the priorities for the detailed projects identified and ways to secure funding, then pursue the projects in phases.”

[email protected] Hwang Tae-jong Reporter