Samsung's 19 Trillion Won Investment and Government Initiatives: Gumi City Bets on Becoming South Korea's Manufacturing AX Capital

Humanoid Robots, AI Data Centers, Semiconductors, and Defense
Government Vision and Samsung Investment Redraw the Industrial Map
Dedicated Task Forces Launched, Ushering in a "Second Industrialization"

Gumi, once known as the "City of Electronics," is reemerging as the center of South Korea's industrial map.

Following the government’s official declaration on July 3 at the Yeongnam Region National Briefing that Gumi will be a manufacturing AI transformation (AX) innovation hub focused on robots and semiconductor materials, components, and equipment, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDS announced a massive investment plan totaling 19 trillion won. As a result, Gumi is now at the forefront of South Korea’s cutting-edge manufacturing innovation.

Panoramic view of Gumi Industrial Complex along the Nakdong River
[Photo by Gumi City]

This announcement carries significance beyond a simple corporate investment. It is being recognized as a rare example where government industrial policy, the future investment strategies of global companies, and local government industrial development plans are seamlessly connected.

Samsung plans to establish a humanoid robot mass production line in Gumi, convert existing production plants into AI-based smart manufacturing facilities, and build a large-scale AI data center. This will create a new industrial ecosystem where manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and data infrastructure are simultaneously concentrated.

◆ Robotics Industry... The most prominent change: Gumi’s new flagship industry is robotics.

The government has presented a blueprint to make South Korea one of the world’s top three global robot powerhouses with Gumi at its core, and Samsung Electronics also unveiled plans to build a humanoid robot production base in the city.

Notably, Taemoon Roh, President of Samsung Electronics, directly requested the designation of Gumi as a robot-specialized complex to the President, increasing the likelihood of government support.

Gumi City immediately decided to form a dedicated task force for the robotics industry.

This dedicated organization will support the entire process, from investment scale and production facilities to attracting partner companies, nurturing talent, and research and development.

Having already established an ordinance for fostering the robotics industry and applied for designation as a national high-tech strategic industry cluster, Gumi is now poised to serve as the practical control tower connecting Samsung’s investment and government policy.

◆ Semiconductors... Evolving from a "Materials, Components, and Equipment Hub" to a Production Base
The semiconductor strategy is also becoming more concrete.

The government plans to nurture Gumi as a hub for semiconductor materials, components, and equipment, as well as for defense semiconductors.

Gumi City, leveraging this opportunity, will focus on having its project to build a high-tech semiconductor materials and components manufacturing complex selected for a preliminary feasibility study, while also actively proposing national defense semiconductor demonstration and mass production base projects to the government.

Most notable is the city’s declaration that it "will not give up on attracting a semiconductor fab."

With all the necessary conditions in place—water, electricity, industrial land, transportation networks, and skilled professionals—Gumi intends to continue its efforts to attract semiconductor manufacturing plants.

Currently, Gumi is the only non-metropolitan region to have both a specialized cluster for semiconductor materials and components and the Southern Region Innovation Belt.

◆ Defense Industry and AI... Completing the Future Industry Puzzle
The defense industry strategy is also aligned with the government’s plans.

Gumi already hosts a defense innovation cluster with leading domestic defense companies such as Hanwha Systems and LIG D&A.

In addition, the city is pursuing designation as a specialized cluster for defense industry materials, components, and equipment, aiming to become a key production base for core advanced weapon system parts.

The AI sector has an even more aggressive vision.

If Samsung SDS’s 120 MW AI data center and a global company’s 1.3 GW-class AI data center are realized, Gumi will become one of the largest AI data hubs in the country.

Gumi City is also working to attract a demonstration industrial complex and an AI convergence cluster to support manufacturing companies’ AI transformation (AX), aiming to establish a model industrial city that fuses manufacturing and AI.

◆ Solving Industrial Land Shortages... Pushing for a 2-Million-Pyeong National High-Tech Industrial Complex
The greatest challenge for these large-scale investments is securing industrial land.

In anticipation of concurrent investments from Samsung, AI data centers, semiconductor, and defense companies, Gumi City plans to propose the creation of a new 2-million-pyeong national high-tech strategic industry complex to the central government.

At the same time, the city will set up dedicated response teams for each sector—robotics, semiconductors, defense, and AI—to accelerate investment support and responses to government project bids.

Jangho Kim, Mayor of Gumi, stated, "Fifty years of manufacturing know-how and advanced infrastructure have aligned with Samsung’s future vision. We will grow Gumi into the central city of South Korea’s manufacturing innovation."

The core of the recent Yeongnam Region National Briefing is not the investment volume of 19 trillion won. More importantly, government policy, Samsung’s future investments, and local government strategies are now aligned in a single direction.

Although Gumi has long enjoyed a reputation as the "mecca of the electronics industry," it has lost growth momentum amid industrial restructuring and concentration in the capital region.

This announcement is significant not for a simple expansion of factories, but as a national strategy that integrates robotics, semiconductors, defense, and AI into a single industrial ecosystem.

Of course, there are still many challenges ahead. Securing large-scale industrial sites, ensuring reliable power supply, nurturing skilled professionals, and building an ecosystem of partner companies are tasks that must be addressed moving forward. However, with government policy and Samsung’s long-term investment direction now both pointing to Gumi, there is a high possibility that this project will be recorded as the greatest industrial turning point since the creation of the national industrial complex.

Gumi has once again started beating as the heart of South Korea’s manufacturing innovation. Now, what remains are speed and execution.

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