Seoul to accelerate administrative procedures and bring forward Yongin semiconductor cluster development
The South Korean government is moving to strengthen the country’s semiconductor competitiveness with a two-track strategy that combines a new large-scale production hub in Gwangju with the accelerated development of the semiconductor cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix plan to pursue the construction of four advanced semiconductor fabrication plants, or fabs, in Gwangju, while the South Korean government intends to speed up the projects through regulatory easing and shorter administrative procedures.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, said during a briefing following a public-private mega-project review meeting at the presidential office on July 6 that the government had decided to develop a semiconductor industrial complex at the planned relocation site of the Gwangju military airport.
Kang said Samsung Electronics and SK hynix had also concluded that the site was the most suitable location for new semiconductor plants.
At the center of the project is a plan to develop a semiconductor industrial complex spanning about 8.26 million square meters, or 2.5 million pyeong, on the military airport site. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are expected to build advanced production facilities there, with a total of four large-scale fabs planned.
The South Korean government selected the military airport site largely because it offers extensive land and the potential for faster development.
Much of the land has already been leveled to accommodate the airport’s runway and infrastructure, potentially reducing the civil engineering work required compared with a conventional industrial complex.
The site is also close to central Gwangju and Gwangju-Songjeong KTX Station, providing favorable conditions for attracting research and development personnel and supporting residential infrastructure. Access to airports, ports and expressways is also expected to strengthen its logistics competitiveness.
The South Korean government believes the site could significantly shorten land acquisition and compensation procedures, which are often among the most time-consuming stages of industrial complex development.
The government and participating companies also assessed the military airport site as more competitive than Gwangju’s Advanced District 3, another location previously considered for the project.
Advanced District 3 covers about 1.1 million pyeong, limiting room for long-term factory expansion. The military airport site is more than twice as large, providing greater space for future production capacity and the clustering of semiconductor suppliers and partner companies.
Alongside the Gwangju project, the South Korean government will accelerate development of the Yongin semiconductor cluster, which is being built as the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing hub.
President Lee said at the meeting that countries around the world were competing for leadership in the semiconductor industry with their national futures at stake.
“What ultimately matters is speed,” Lee said. “Administrative procedures must not be allowed to slow industrial competitiveness.”
The president also called for existing environmental impact assessment results to be used wherever possible.
“If an identical or similar area has already undergone an environmental impact assessment, those results should be actively utilized,” Lee said. “Even when a new assessment is unavoidable, the process must be significantly shortened.”
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment will accordingly seek to reduce the review period for the Gwangju semiconductor complex by making greater use of environmental assessment data from nearby areas.
Land compensation procedures are also set to be streamlined.
President Lee instructed officials to consider conducting negotiated acquisitions and compulsory purchase procedures simultaneously to minimize speculative holdouts that could delay development.
“If there are no problems under existing law, negotiated acquisition and expropriation procedures should proceed in parallel,” Lee said. “If institutional obstacles exist, they should be resolved through legislation.”
The South Korean government also plans a comprehensive review of the Yongin semiconductor cluster schedule with the goal of bringing forward completion.
Kang said the government would reassess not only land compensation procedures but also schedules for electricity, water and other essential infrastructure.
“We will push for the earliest possible completion of the Yongin cluster and concentrate all available administrative support on the project,” he said.
The strategy is expected to establish Gwangju and Yongin as two major pillars of South Korea’s semiconductor production network.
While Yongin will remain at the center of the country’s massive semiconductor manufacturing expansion, the Gwangju project would extend advanced production capacity beyond the Seoul metropolitan area and into the southwestern Honam region.
The dual-hub strategy could also support regional development while expanding South Korea’s capacity to respond to growing global demand for semiconductors driven by artificial intelligence.
The South Korean government plans to coordinate with relevant ministries and participating companies before announcing a more detailed development schedule and support measures for the Gwangju semiconductor industrial complex.
