"Semiconductor Industrial Complex Promised, But Only Transmission Towers Here"... KEPCO Pushes Ahead with Shin-Haenam~Shin-Jangseong Project Amid Yeongam Opposition

Notice of Residents' Briefing on the "345kV Shin-Haenam~Shin-Jangseong Transmission Line Project"

"Local Sacrifice Demanded for the Capital Region"

Local Acceptance Emerges as the Biggest Variable

As the government accelerates efforts to construct the Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex and expand the power supply network for advanced industries, a key transmission project that will connect renewable energy generated in the southwestern region of Jeollanam-do to the national grid has officially begun its permitting process. However, as residents in the affected areas protest that "only transmission towers will be left in the region while the power benefits flow to the greater Seoul area," local acceptance has emerged as the biggest variable in moving the project forward.

According to the power industry on August 3, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced on July 31 that it would open the "345kV Shin-Haenam~Shin-Jangseong Transmission Line Construction Project" to public viewing and hold an explanatory session for local residents. Residents are permitted to review the project details for a set period and submit their opinions, which KEPCO plans to collect and consider in the course of moving the project forward.

This project is a national backbone transmission network plan to deliver electricity produced from offshore wind and solar complexes in the southwestern Jeollanam-do region to the national grid. In the long term, the power industry expects it will form the foundation for supplying electricity to advanced industrial complexes, including the Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex. The transmission line is expected to extend approximately 80 kilometers from Yeongpung-ri, Seongjeon-myeon, Gangjin-gun to Hongjeong-ri, Samseo-myeon, Jangseong-gun. A total of 214 transmission towers will be erected along the line, which covers an area of about 2.4 million square meters. KEPCO will execute the project over a 65-month period from 2026 to 2031.

Public viewing for residents will be available from August 3 to September 4, and will include the implementation plan in accordance with the Special Act on Expanding National Power Grids as well as the draft environmental impact statement under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, along with explanatory sessions.

Previously, in October 2025, the government designated this transmission line project and related substation plans in Jeollanam-do as national backbone network facilities at the first Power Grid Expansion Committee meeting chaired by then-Prime Minister Kim Minseok. Afterward, local residents and environmental groups in the areas affected—Gwangsan-gu in Gwangju, and Yeongam, Hwasun, Jangseong, Gokseong, and Haenam in Jeollanam-do—formed a task force to demand the project be halted. Several planned explanatory sessions for residents organized by KEPCO were canceled as a result.

The Yeongam task force recently held a rally in front of the Sarangchae, near the Blue House, arguing, "While the government has said it will nurture the semiconductor industry in the Honam region, the actual project is a transmission network sending electricity to the capital area. It is a project that only demands sacrifice from the local region." Last year, Yeongam County issued an official statement asserting, "An ultra-high voltage transmission line project centered on towers shows the limitations of a centralized energy policy," and requested a shift to a decentralized energy policy where electricity produced in the region is consumed locally.

Both the government and KEPCO maintain that the project is unavoidable from the perspective of the national power grid. Although the southwestern region of Jeollanam-do is emerging as the country’s largest center for renewable energy production, delays in power generation and repeated output controls are occurring due to a lack of transmission capacity. Furthermore, with the rapid increase in national electricity demand driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, semiconductor facilities, and electrification, the expansion of large-scale transmission networks cannot be postponed any longer.

Signs of change are also emerging in local public sentiment. Until last year, residents' main concerns centered on property rights infringement and environmental damage from the installation of towers. However, after the announcement of the Honam Semiconductor Cluster project, the focus of the debate is shifting toward the question of "where the electricity will be used." Rather than opposing the transmission network itself, there is a growing consensus that it should be linked to fostering local industries. A task force official remarked, "If the power infrastructure had been for local industrial benefit, residents' views would have been different,” emphasizing that “practical compensation for power-producing regions, attracting companies, and offering industrial development plans should be considered together."

An official in the power industry stated, "In the past, conflicts centered on environmental and property issues caused by transmission tower construction, but now the discussion extends to local development and attracting industry. Depending on how concretely the government moves forward with the Honam Semiconductor Cluster and AI data center plans, residents' perceptions are likely to shift accordingly."

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