The legal basis for receiving up to 100% national funding for infrastructure costs, such as power and water supply, for the Honam semiconductor cluster has been established.
Attention is now focused on how much funding the government will provide to Gwangju.
According to the government and Gwangju, the enforcement decree of the Semiconductor Special Act, approved at a Cabinet meeting on August 4, will take effect on August 11.
The enforcement decree prioritizes non-capital regions for the designation of semiconductor clusters and allows for 50-100% of infrastructure costs to be supported by the national and local governments.
Previously, large-scale infrastructure projects had to be negotiated as separate budget items, but now they can be included in the semiconductor cluster support program, reducing the financial burden on local governments.
The specific distribution of national and local funding, as well as the criteria for full support, will be determined through discussions with budget authorities, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Since the legislative notice stage of the enforcement decree, Gwangju has requested that the government fully fund key infrastructure, such as power and water supply.
Additionally, Gwangju plans to reduce the local financial burden by dividing support items under the special provisions of the Semiconductor Special Act and the Mega Special Zone Act.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has also stated that it can support different project items concurrently under the Semiconductor Special Act and the Mega Special Zone Act.
However, the Mega Special Zone Act has not yet been finalized, and the specifics of the support targets and national funding ratios need to be clarified during the legislative process.
Securing national funding for the shortfall in the relocation project of Gwangju Airport, which is the site of the semiconductor cluster, is also a challenge that needs to be addressed.
The infrastructure support under the Semiconductor Special Act does not directly apply to the Gwangju Airport relocation project, which aims to raise funds by selling the previous site.
The government and the city are discussing a plan for the national and local governments to share the shortfall that cannot be covered by the sale proceeds, but the basis for support and the distribution ratio have not yet been finalized.
There are also discussions about utilizing the promised 20 trillion won administrative integration support fund for the shortfall that cannot be secured through national funding during the semiconductor cluster establishment and airport relocation process.
The city's primary goal is to maximize the national funding ratio for semiconductor infrastructure, secure additional support through the Mega Special Zone Act, and obtain separate national support for the airport relocation shortfall.
A representative from the Gwangju Semiconductor Industry Support Team stated, "Once the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy establishes detailed criteria, we will advocate for the highest possible national funding ratio for key infrastructure such as power and water supply."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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