President Lee Responds to Lee Jae-yong's 'Land Shortage' Remark: "There’s Plenty in the South"

President Lee Tours Samsung Products with Chairman Lee Jae-yong
Upon Seeing Innovative Products, Says "Feels Like a Country Bumpkin Visiting Seoul"

On July 2, President Lee Jae-myung toured Samsung products together with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and encouraged employees working on the production line.

On this day, President Lee visited the Samsung Display Asan 2 Campus on the occasion of the National Report Meeting on the Development Vision of the Advanced Industry in the Chungcheong Region. He was joined by Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display CEO Lee Cheong, and viewed the exhibition of Samsung products.

President Lee Jae-myung is experiencing AR glasses at the Chungcheong Region Advanced Industry Development Vision Public Report held in Asan City, Chungnam Province on July 2, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

While observing semiconductor package substrates used in AI data center servers, President Lee was told by Chairman Lee, "Due to the AI boom, demand has suddenly surged. At our Busan plant, we ran out of land, and the Sejong plant is also full. So, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is asking the Sejong mayor for more land." According to Deputy Spokesperson An Guiryeong from the presidential office, President Lee replied, "The issue is land. There’s plenty in the south," which elicited laughter from the attendees.

While viewing the 'Privacy Display,' a security technology invisible from the side, Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik commented, "Lawmakers would use this a lot," drawing laughter from the audience. This was a reference to the frequent capture of sensitive conversations when lawmakers use their phones in the main assembly hall. President Lee also laughed and said, "Because of this, I couldn't use my phone at all in the (National Assembly) plenary chamber."

In addition, President Lee personally experienced glasses-free 3D displays and AR glasses. At the exhibition area for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) product packaging technology, he remarked, "I feel like a country bumpkin visiting Seoul for the first time."

President Lee Jae-myung is experiencing a smart car display at the National Report Meeting on the Development Vision of the Advanced Industry in the Chungcheong Region held on July 2 in Asan, Chungnam. 2026.7.2 Yonhap News Agency

When briefed on all-solid-state batteries, President Lee asked a series of questions about the differences from existing batteries, safety, and production costs. Upon hearing that the production cost is about five times higher than conventional batteries, he responded, "If high battery safety is required in a certain field, then it may be necessary to use them even if they are somewhat expensive," and added, "If demand is developed, the production cost could gradually decrease," demonstrating his keen interest.

After finishing the tour, President Lee personally celebrated the start of the world’s first mass production of 8.6-generation IT OLEDs. Through a real-time screen connected to the production site, he greeted the engineers and encouraged them, saying, "You are starting something new today, so I hope you can work safely and with joy." He then pressed the button himself to load the first glass substrate onto the production line, marking the official launch of mass production.

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