Chey Orders Fast Gwangju Semiconductor Build

"Going forward, we may have to construct factories in parallel in Yongin and Jeonnam-Gwangju."

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won visited the prospective site for the semiconductor specialized complex in Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Metropolitan City on Oct. 9, revealing a strong commitment to executing investments in high-tech industries in the Honam region.

On October 9, Chairman Chey thoroughly inspected key candidate sites, including the Gwangju military airport site and the ammunition depot area, along with key management including SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung. After receiving reports on the industrial complex development plan and the preparation status of infrastructure such as power, water, and transportation from officials including Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Metropolitan City Mayor Min Hyung-bae at the site, Chairman Chey ordered the management to proceed with the project with a sense of speed through close collaboration with the government and local authorities.

This site visit reflects a situation where the speed of increasing semiconductor demand has exceeded expectations, necessitating the securing of production facilities faster than the original plan. Chairman Chey predicted that even though the entire construction schedule of the Yongin semiconductor cluster was advanced by 12 years, even this would be insufficient. Accordingly, Chairman Chey explained that he visited the site to directly confirm how quickly a factory could be built in Jeonnam-Gwangju.

SK hynix announced a blueprint in June to develop a new cluster worth 400 trillion won ($307.69 billion) in the Honam region. Since then, the management has visited the Gwangju site about 10 times and continued working-level discussions with the local government, but as the head of the group directly inspected the site and even mentioned the possibility of "parallel construction," it is analyzed that the project's promotion will gain further momentum.

The local government also responded by promising full support. Mayor Min Hyung-bae expressed gratitude on behalf of the 3.2 million metropolitan citizens and clarified the position that they would firmly support not only the site and infrastructure but also talent cultivation and settlement conditions so that SK hynix can stably construct and operate the factory.

SK hynix emphasized that as the growth of the global AI memory market accelerates and competition intensifies, it will continue investments based on the support of the government and local authorities to contribute to strengthening South Korea's AI semiconductor hegemony. With this visit as a starting point, the Honam region semiconductor cluster is expected to enter a substantive phase to establish itself as a key axis of the national semiconductor supply chain beyond a simple regional investment.