Second Year of 'National Transformation'... Lee to Announce Regional Balanced Development Strategy with Samsung, SK, and Others on the 29th

CEOs of Major Companies Including Samsung, SK, and Hyundai Motor to Attend
Focus on Concrete Regional Investment Plans in AI, Semiconductors, and Advanced Industries
Blue House Coordinates in Advance with Chey Tae-won and Lee Jae-yong
First

President Lee Jae-myung will invite the CEOs of major domestic companies to the Blue House on the 29th and announce an investment strategy for balanced regional development in the form of a national briefing session. This will mark the first public release of a concrete action plan to spread advanced industries, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, to regions since President Lee declared the "Great National Transformation" as the guiding principle for his administration's second year in office.

President Lee Jae-myung shook hands with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong as he entered the business roundtable held at a hotel in Rome, Italy, on the 12th (local time). 2026.6.13 Yonhap News Agency

According to the Blue House and the business community on the 23rd, President Lee will hold a meeting with CEOs of major conglomerates such as Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG on the 29th to discuss ways to expand regional investment. The companies are expected to present their plans for domestic investment linked to each group’s core businesses, including AI semiconductors, data centers, future mobility, batteries, and advanced materials, while the government is said to be preparing to offer a package of support measures, including tax incentives, regulatory easing, and the provision of electricity, water, and talent needed for local investments.

This meeting is not simply meant to enhance communication with the business sector but is more of a national report session unveiling the Lee administration’s balanced regional development strategy for its second year in power. At the press conference marking his first anniversary in office, President Lee had previously announced that he would soon unveil a "large-scale investment project to achieve a transformation in growth strategy" to the public. While the first year of his administration focused on restoring democracy and stabilizing livelihoods, the second year is centered on creating economic outcomes by combining an industrial restructuring led by AI and semiconductors with balanced regional development.

President Lee has been considering ways to ease the concentration of resources in the Seoul metropolitan area while also strengthening the country’s growth engines. Advanced industries have traditionally grown around the capital region, where workforce and infrastructure are concentrated, but he believes that if this structure persists, it will be difficult to prevent the decline of provincial areas and the outflow of young people. In response, the government has been reviewing plans to create "mega-special zones" centered on large provincial cities and industrial hubs, and to improve power grids, water supply, transportation, education, and living conditions in tandem so that companies can make actual investment decisions in these areas.

President Lee’s recent series of individual meetings with business leaders is also in line with this trend. It has been reported that immediately after returning from his European tour on the 19th, President Lee held a private meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. SK Group has been reviewing local investment plans focused on AI semiconductors and data centers. Observers inside and outside the government suggest that SK hynix’s expansion of the semiconductor ecosystem and investment in AI infrastructure could become one of the central pillars of the regional development strategy.

It is also reported that President Lee is seeking a separate meeting with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong later this week. Samsung is said to be fine-tuning its domestic investment strategy with a focus on semiconductors, AI, and an advanced manufacturing base. Samsung has been considering semiconductor investments in the Honam region, centering on Gwangju. However, the specific investment locations and scale are likely to be finalized by the time of the official announcement on the 29th.

For companies, the key for this round of investment plans will be execution, rather than the size of each individual investment. Despite repeated emphasis on balanced development and local corporate investment by successive administrations, companies have hesitated to make large-scale regional investments due to difficulties in securing talent, delays in obtaining permits, insufficient power infrastructure, and the lack of a robust ecosystem of partner companies. Therefore, the success of the government’s appeal for corporate investment will depend on how concretely it can present administrative, financial, and infrastructure support necessary for companies to make investment decisions, rather than simply making requests.

Creating youth jobs is also expected to be a core message. President Lee has consistently emphasized that quality jobs and solid educational and cultural foundations in the regions are essential to ease the concentration in the capital area and the outflow of young people. According to the Blue House, if investments in high-value-added industries like AI and semiconductors are established in local hubs, it will be possible to create a new growth model that connects local universities, research institutes, partner companies, and the startup ecosystem.

This announcement is also considered politically significant. President Lee now faces the need to demonstrate accomplishments in his second year in office amid declining approval ratings and simultaneous pressures on livelihood and reform agendas. A ruling party official said, "Balanced regional development is not a matter of more welfare or redistribution, but a national survival strategy," adding, "This announcement is expected to focus on having companies and the government jointly develop actionable strategies to spread investments in future industries such as AI and semiconductors beyond the capital to the regions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.