The Korea Light Source, or KLS, is being built on a site in Ochang, North Chungcheong Province, and is targeted for completion by the end of 2029, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Basic Science Institute said Monday.
Once operational, the accelerator will hurl electrons to near light speed to generate brilliant beams capable of probing the structure of matter at the atomic scale, underpinning research in strategic fields such as semiconductors, batteries, new drugs and advanced materials.
It will be about 100 times brighter than the country's existing third-generation source in Pohang.
The project has not been without setbacks. Its completion date slipped from an original 2027 target after a contract with the POSCO E&C consortium was delayed, and construction bids were left unfilled several times before the deal was finally signed.
"Now that the KLS has entered full-scale construction, we will put safety first and thoroughly manage every stage of the work," said Koo Hyuk-chae, first vice minister of science and ICT.
"We will do our utmost to ensure a successful build so that researchers and industry can make use of world-class research infrastructure."
When finished, the facility will make South Korea the world's sixth country to operate a fourth-generation circular light source.
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