Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong Plans Gwangju as Candidate Site for New Semiconductor Complex

"Significant Incentive Support Expected"

Cutting-Edge Packaging in Chungcheong, Robotics in Gumi, Batteries in Ulsan, and More

Jae-yong Lee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, announced on June 29 that Gwangju is being considered as a candidate site for a new domestic semiconductor complex.

At the national ceremony during the 3 Major Mega Projects Public Briefing held at the Blue House on the 29th. From the right, Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Lee Jae-myung, President; and Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group. Photo by Yonhap News Agency Blue House Correspondents

At the "Korea Grand Leap: 3 Major Megaprojects National Report" held at the Blue House and presided over by President Jae-myung Lee, Chairman Lee stated, "Due to artificial intelligence (AI), the technology paradigm is changing at an unimaginable speed. Despite aggressive investments by semiconductor companies, the market view is that it is insufficient to meet the explosive demand." He added, "As a result, the investment schedule for the national industrial complex in Yongin has been greatly accelerated following Giheung, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek, and the timing for preparing a new complex has also been moved up."

Chairman Lee emphasized, "As the President said, it is a race against time," and explained, "Among various regions, Gwangju is being considered as a candidate site because of the expected support in power, water, workforce, and infrastructure, as well as other incentives."

Regarding the back-end semiconductor process and cutting-edge packaging technologies, he presented a blueprint for concentrated investments in the Chungcheong region. He said, "For HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), which is essential for AI model training and inference, the most advanced chip stacking technology and main fab-level processes are required," adding, "Samsung will focus investment in Cheonan, Onyang, and other parts of the Chungcheong region for the HBM fab (factory), together with existing back-end semiconductor fabs."

Samsung also unveiled ambitious investment roadmaps for its major affiliates' businesses, including robotics, batteries, shipbuilding, and bio. For physical AI and humanoid robots, Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province was presented as the investment hub. Chairman Lee remarked, "The demand for robots is expected to rise significantly not only in industrial sites such as factories, but also throughout society in households, restaurants, and hospitals," adding, "Investments related to robotics, along with Samsung Group's internal AI data center, will be concentrated in Gumi, North Gyeongsang."

For Samsung SDI, which is responsible for eco-friendly and next-generation energy solutions, investments will continue to focus on all-solid-state batteries and battery energy storage system (BESS) batteries centered in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province. In addition, the next-generation shipbuilding business led by Samsung Heavy Industries will continue to invest in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, utilizing its existing base. For the advanced package substrate business—which produces essential components for electric vehicles, AI servers, and computers—Samsung Electro-Mechanics will further expand investments in its Busan plant.

He went on to stress that Samsung’s bio business, which it sees as a future growth engine, will receive concentrated investment in Songdo, Incheon, solidifying it as the world's largest bio complex.

Chairman Lee concluded, "I am confident that if businesses, the government, and local governments combine their efforts, we can create an irreplaceable Korea," adding, "Based on a constant sense of crisis, we will focus on customer and quality orientation, cutting-edge technological innovation, and fostering outstanding talent, so that we can maintain an uncatchable super-gap in global competition."

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