South Korea Selects Gwangju Military Airport Site for Semiconductor Cluster, Citing Time Savings and Transportation Convenience

SEOUL (CNA) - South Korea's presidential office announced today that the government-led plan to build a semiconductor industry cluster in the southwestern part of the country has selected a military airport in Gwangju as the site, primarily considering factors such as saving land preparation time and convenient transportation.

Yonhap News Agency reported that Kang Hoon-sik, Secretary to the President, stated at a press conference that President Lee Jae-myung chaired a meeting earlier today where officials and representatives from South Korea's top two chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, discussed the next steps for the investment plan, leading to the decision.

Kang Hoon-sik pointed out that the military airport site is approximately 2.5 million pyeong (about 8.26 square kilometers) and, because it is an airport, the land preparation has already been completed, which is expected to shorten the preparation time. Additionally, its proximity to Gwangju city center and the train station offers transportation advantages for personnel and logistics, making it favored by the companies.

This chip production cluster plan is one of the Lee Jae-myung administration's "three megaprojects," targeting large-scale investments in semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI), and AI data centers in the Gwangju and Honam regions. Samsung and SK Hynix have pledged a combined investment of 800 trillion Korean won (approximately NT$16.7 trillion).

Kang Hoon-sik stated that the South Korean government will convene relevant ministries for coordination, hoping to complete the administrative procedures for this site selection as soon as possible. President Lee Jae-myung will also hold monthly meetings to personally oversee the progress of the plan. (Compiled by Chang Cheng-chi) 0706

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