Gwangju: President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday reaffirmed the government's all-out support for the mega investment plans by Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Group unveiled the previous day as part of an 800 trillion-won (US$519 billion) project for the creation of a semiconductor cluster in the southwestern region.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the project announced in a government event led by Lee on Monday, envisions the construction of two memory chip fabrication plants by Samsung and two fabs by SK hynix in the southwestern city of Gwangju and the surrounding Jeolla provinces. President Lee emphasized the importance of the project, stating during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae that the government will ensure companies that made this significant decision will not face difficulties in their investment activities.
The investment plan has been met with both praise and criticism. The ruling bloc supports the initiative, while the main opposition People Power Party criticizes it as discriminatory against other regions and politically motivated to bolster support for the Lee administration ahead of the Democratic Party's national convention in August. Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces are traditionally strongholds of the liberal Democratic Party.
Addressing the criticism, President Lee acknowledged that while the investment targets the southwest, it represents only a small fraction compared to the significant investments historically made in the rival southeastern region. He argued that the perceived "exclusion" and "discrimination" of the southwest have turned into an advantage, allowing the region to preserve essential resources like water, power, and land for the project, which many experts believe could determine the nation's future in the AI era.
The Lee administration has highlighted the project as a prime example of aligning business interests with the government's objective of achieving balanced regional development. Lee emphasized that the government should ensure the project meets national needs without imposing losses and risks on the companies involved.