The Presidential Office said Friday that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will build four semiconductor plants (fabs) in the Honam region on the site of the Gwangju military airbase. The Presidential Office also said it would accelerate as much as possible the completion schedule for a semiconductor cluster the size of 10 fabs currently being developed in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will build a total of four fabs on the site.
Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said at a briefing following the mega-project public-private joint review meeting that day, "We have decided to develop a Honam-region semiconductor industrial complex on the site of the Gwangju military airbase." Kang explained that the Gwangju military airbase allows the securing of 2.5 million pyeong of state-owned land, that site leveling has been completed, and that it surpasses other candidate sites in transportation and logistics accessibility, adding that companies proposed it first as the optimal location.
Along with confirming the site, the government will activate a "super fast-track" that simultaneously advances administrative procedures such as land expropriation and permits. The plan is to build power and water infrastructure in parallel to shorten the project timeline as much as possible. "Now that the site has been confirmed, land expropriation and infrastructure such as power and water will also be accelerated through consultations by each ministry," Kang said. "We will also push the investment in the 10 fabs of the Yongin cluster by advancing the schedule as much as possible."
President Lee Jae-myung also emphasized administrative procedures and regulatory easing for the early completion of the semiconductor clusters in Yongin as well as Gwangju. "The environmental impact assessment is also necessary, but it is important to invoke existing results," Lee said. "For power and water as well, rather than waiting until other issues are resolved, it would be good to secure them preemptively." Regarding land acquisition, he added, "We can start the negotiated acquisition and compulsory expropriation procedures simultaneously. That is the original intent of the law."
In particular, Lee said, "Companies worry a great deal about baseload power," and requested, "It would be good to resolve the baseload power issue preemptively as well." He then stressed, "Truly, only the battle for speed matters."
The Presidential Office plans to hold the mega-project public-private joint review meeting chaired by Lee every month to personally check on progress, and to launch as soon as possible a dedicated organization led by a figure of substantial standing.
Gwangju Airbase: Leveling, Land Compensation Time Drastically Cut… "Samsung Also Completed Site Analysis Five Years Ago"
The selection of the Gwangju military airbase as the site for the Honam semiconductor cluster, a core pillar of the three mega-projects, came from the judgment that it is the optimal location for securing both "speed" and "scalability." It can secure 2.5 million pyeong of state-owned land at once, and given the nature of an airport site, leveling has been completed, allowing the construction period to be shortened by more than three to four years. With accessibility as well, companies are known to have proposed it as the optimal location even before the government did.
Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said at a briefing following the mega-project public-private joint review meeting Friday, "Among the candidate sites in the Honam region, companies presented the opinion that the Gwangju military airbase is the most suitable." He added, "It is adjacent to downtown Gwangju and the KTX station, giving it strengths in securing workforce and in living conditions, and it was reviewed as having excellent logistics accessibility linking roads, airports and ports."
The government also made clear that the project is being pushed on the premise that both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will build new fabs at the Gwangju military airbase. Because the two companies will be located at the same site, security concerns were raised, but both companies take the position that "there will be almost no security problems." Rather, they expect supply chain efficiency to increase as partner companies cluster together.
Large-Scale Industrial Belt Site Secured at Once
State-Owned Land Means Low Land Expropriation Risk
KTX, Port Logistics Infrastructure Rated Optimal
The greatest strength of the Gwangju military airbase is its large-scale scalability. A semiconductor plant completes its industrial ecosystem only when not just production facilities but also materials, parts and equipment companies, research facilities, and logistics facilities are located together. While the existing Gwangju Che단gcheom District 3 struggles to guarantee such scalability, the Gwangju military airbase is assessed as having the potential to build a large-scale semiconductor industrial belt over the long term.
Above all, it draws attention that companies focused on the potential of the Gwangju military airbase before the government did. A senior Presidential Office official said, "I understand that Samsung has been reviewing the Gwangju military airbase site for about five years and has effectively completed its site analysis. I understand that even before the government explained candidate sites, it had highly rated the suitability of the Gwangju military airbase as the next semiconductor production hub after Yongin."
The site size is also assessed as sufficient. Samsung Electronics plans to build six fabs at the Yongin advanced system semiconductor national industrial complex (about 2.35 million pyeong), while SK hynix plans to build four fabs at the Yongin general industrial complex (about 1.26 million pyeong). The Gwangju military airbase site of about 2.5 million pyeong is also expected to be sufficient to accommodate the two companies' new fabs.
Speed is also cited as a competitive edge for the Gwangju military airbase. Given the nature of an airport site, leveling is already complete, which can greatly reduce the period for large-scale civil engineering work, and existing runways and infrastructure can also be used, shortening the cluster development period. Normally, developing an industrial complex takes about two to three years for leveling and one to two years for land compensation. The government intends to drastically reduce the project timeline by introducing a "super fast-track" that advances the environmental impact assessment, land compensation, power and water supply, and various permits simultaneously rather than sequentially.
High Marks for Development Speed and Scalability
Muan Airport Relocation a Variable… Super Fast-Track in Parallel
The fact that it is state-owned land is also a factor raising the speed of the project. "Apart from carrying out negotiated acquisition and compulsory expropriation in parallel, because the Gwangju military airbase is state-owned land, there is no land expropriation risk," Kang stressed. The enforcement decree of the Semiconductor Special Act, which the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy pre-announced last month, stipulates that when companies entering a semiconductor cluster use state or public land, usage fees and lease fees can be reduced by 50 percent up to a maximum of 100 percent.
Accessibility and industrial infrastructure also received high marks. A senior Presidential Office official explained, "We also reviewed alternative sites such as Solaseado and Saemangeum, but we saw limits to their use due to accessibility issues." The Gwangju military airbase is close to downtown Gwangju and the KTX station, giving it strengths in securing excellent workforce and in living conditions, and it has secured a logistics network linking highways, airports and ports, which is assessed as reducing the burden of leaving the greater Seoul area.
Companies expect this project to become an opportunity to expand the semiconductor industry landscape that has been centered on the greater Seoul area. One company official said, "Just as Taiwan built the world's largest semiconductor ecosystem by clustering more than 600 semiconductor companies in the Hsinchu Science Park starting in 1980, Korea too will complete a super-large semiconductor belt connecting Yongin and Honam, following Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, Cheongju and Icheon."
However, there are also many challenges to overcome. To use the Gwangju military airbase as a cluster, the construction of a new airport, such as relocating the military airbase to Muan, must come first, and soil remediation of a site long used as a military airbase is also a variable. "We will review from various angles ways to vacate the Gwangju military airbase (even before construction of the new airport)," Kang said, expressing a determination to shorten the project timeline.
