Lee Administration Unveils 'Three Mega Projects' Today... Samsung, SK, and Hyundai Motor to Back 1,000 Trillion Won Investment Plan

Government's 'Three Mega Projects Briefing'

Top Leaders Including Lee Jayong and Chey Taewon to Participate

Samsung Expected to Expand Beyond Honam to Yeongnam and Incheon

Hyundai's Saemangeum Investment, SK Reviewing Gwangju Plans

In response to the government's "mega investment project," leading Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK, and Hyundai Motor Group will join large-scale public-private investments. Centered on semiconductor companies, an investment plan totaling around 1,000 trillion won is expected to be announced, encompassing next-generation high-tech industries including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and power grids.

According to industry sources and the ruling party on the 29th, Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil an astronomical mid-to-long-term investment plan spanning major business sites nationwide at the "Korea's Great Leap Forward: Three Mega Projects National Briefing," which will be presided over by President Lee Jaemyung that day. To this end, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jay-yong met President Lee at the Blue House on the 25th to deliver the investment plan and discuss it for over an hour. It is anticipated that Chairman Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and other heads of major conglomerates will attend the briefing on the 29th.

The government is currently promoting the "5 Regions, 3 Special Zones" national balanced development strategy and the establishment of a semiconductor belt in the southern region. The "Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting the Competitiveness of the Semiconductor Industry" (Semiconductor Special Act), which is scheduled to go into effect in August, also includes measures to support regional semiconductor clusters and special regulatory exemptions to ensure balanced regional development.

President Lee Jae-myung is entering a business roundtable held at a hotel in Rome, Italy on the 12th (local time) and shaking hands with Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong. Photo by Yonhap News.

The investment plan to be announced by Samsung Electronics is expected to include the creation of a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region and the expansion of the back-end processing ecosystem in the Chungcheong region, among other comprehensive initiatives. The plan involves expanding existing major production facilities in Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, Giheung, Onyang, and Cheonan to a nationwide scale. The semiconductor cluster to be built in Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City will be a "mega cluster," housing both front-end fabrication (production lines) and packaging (back-end processing) factories. It is projected that up to five semiconductor fabs, each costing at least 60 trillion won to construct, could be established.

In the Chungcheong region, there is a possibility of expanding the existing core back-end processing facility at Onyang Campus (Asan, South Chungcheong) and upgrading the advanced materials and components ecosystem. In addition, major affiliates such as Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics are expected to make large-scale investments. Samsung Display plans to invest 100 trillion won over the next 10 years to expand OLED and next-generation display production, focusing on its Asan and Cheonan campuses. Samsung SDI's Cheonan plant is reportedly set to increase its next-generation battery production capacity. Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ Sejong plant is also predicted to expand its production capacity for high-value-added substrates for AI semiconductors. The government is also expected to support the region by establishing an advanced materials and components industrial complex in Chungcheong.

In the Yeongnam region, Samsung Electronics is likely to strengthen AI-based manufacturing competitiveness at its Gumi plant, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ Busan plant is set to expand the production of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and semiconductor substrates. Samsung SDI’s Ulsan plant is expected to ramp up energy storage system (ESS) production facilities, in response to soaring demand driven by expanded AI infrastructure. In addition, in Incheon, Samsung Biologics is anticipated to continue large-scale investments to foster bio as a future growth engine.

Industry insiders predict that if all regional investment plans are executed, the total investment could reach about 1,000 trillion won over the next 10 years. The government's three mega projects are also expected to gain momentum. For this purpose, Chairman Lee is reportedly considering visiting Samsung Display's Asan campus on July 2, where he may personally announce a vision to lead investment in the Chungcheong region for the advancement of the advanced materials and components ecosystem.

SK Group is also reviewing plans to establish a semiconductor cluster in the Gwangju-Jeonnam region. In addition to the Ulsan AI data center, additional local investment projects are reportedly under consideration. Chairman Chey Tae-won held a preliminary meeting with President Lee at the Blue House on the 19th, and it is understood that he will announce the investment plan at the Southwest Advanced Industry Investment National Briefing hosted by the government on the 30th.

At this announcement, the government plans to unveil not only semiconductor-related projects in the Honam region but also plans to establish an industrial ecosystem for robotics and AI. This project consists of three pillars: the national AI strategy, balanced regional development, and fostering new industries. The session on fostering new industries, which will be held separately from the balanced regional development session that includes semiconductor investment, will focus on key fields such as robotics, AI, semiconductors, and autonomous driving.

It is understood that 10 to 15 representatives from major robotics-related companies will attend the event, including Minwoo Park, President of Hyundai Motor, Minpyo Kim, CEO of Doosan Robotics, Yoonsul Um, CEO of Arobot, and Byungsoo Kim, CEO of Robotis. If the investments materialize, the project is expected to expand beyond simply creating manufacturing bases to form a complex industrial belt that connects AI semiconductors, data centers, power infrastructure, and robotics manufacturing and demonstration. Previously, Hyundai Motor announced plans to invest 9 trillion won to establish a physical AI value chain in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, designating it as a global base for hydrogen, robotics, and AI.

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