SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won emphasized on October 9 the need to expedite the development of the semiconductor cluster in the Honam region, stating that construction could begin even if there are delays in power and water supply. He indicated that if necessary, construction could proceed concurrently with the Yongin semiconductor cluster.
Chey visited the Gwangju military airport and ammunition depot site in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, along with key executives, including SK Hynix CEO Kwon Oh-joon, to assess the industrial complex development plans and infrastructure readiness.
Attendees, including Gwangju Mayor Min Hyung-bae, provided updates on the site, power and water supply, and transportation network plans. After the site inspection, Chey instructed the management team to collaborate closely with the government and local authorities to accelerate the establishment of the southwestern semiconductor cluster.
Chey explained the visit's purpose, stating, "I believe that seeing things firsthand is more important than a hundred words. I wanted to check how quickly we can build a factory in Gwangju."
SK's assessment indicates that the demand for memory semiconductors is rising faster than expected due to the global spread of artificial intelligence (AI), necessitating an urgent expansion of production facilities.
"We expect demand to continue to grow at a rapid pace, so we need to significantly increase our expansion speed," Chey said, noting that while the completion timeline for the Yongin cluster has been moved up by 12 years, it is still insufficient.
He added, "We need to establish production facilities at another site, and if necessary, we may have to build factories simultaneously in Yongin and Gwangju."
Chey has previously emphasized in recent internal and external meetings that to respond to the AI era, memory semiconductor production capacity must be expanded to more than double its current level within the next five years.
The specific start date for construction will be determined after reviewing the government's and local authorities' infrastructure development plans. Chey mentioned, "We need to recalculate how to align the national water and power supply plans with the construction schedule," suggesting that a specific timeline may be announced soon.
However, he expressed a willingness to begin construction as soon as possible, even if infrastructure development is slightly delayed. "If we can start construction, such as piling, even if the water and power supply are delayed, we will proceed as quickly as possible," he stated, adding, "I have no intention of cutting construction costs here."
The scale of the Honam cluster is planned to be two-thirds that of the Yongin semiconductor cluster. Chey noted, "If there is more land and semiconductor demand increases, this site could grow larger." However, he did not disclose the specific number of semiconductor production facilities (fabs) planned.
Mayor Min Hyung-bae stated, "We will ensure that SK Hynix can build and operate world-class semiconductor factories stably by supporting not only the site and power and water supply but also talent development and living conditions."
In June, SK Hynix announced plans to invest approximately 400 trillion won in the Honam region to establish a new semiconductor cluster. Since then, senior executives have visited Gwangju over ten times to discuss site development and infrastructure supply plans with local authorities.
The Honam semiconductor cluster is part of the government's 'Korea's Great Leap Forward: Three Mega Projects,' which involves a total investment of 800 trillion won by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to build four memory semiconductor fabs.
In July, the government selected the Gwangju military airport site, covering approximately 2.5 million pyeong, as the cluster location. The site, mostly state-owned and already leveled due to its airport characteristics, was chosen to minimize land compensation and site development time.
The future pace of the project is expected to depend on the relocation of military airport functions and the establishment of power and water infrastructure. The government plans to temporarily relocate military airport functions to another airport by mid-2028 and is pursuing a plan to begin construction on nearby sites that can be utilized even before the relocation is complete.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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