The project to build a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region on the 8.26 million square meter site of the former Gwangju military airport is moving ahead at a rapid pace. It is a project to build four fabrication plants, two each by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
The government approved the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Strengthening the Competitiveness of the Semiconductor Industry at a Cabinet meeting on the 4th. A pan-government control tower, the Special Committee for Strengthening the Competitiveness of the Semiconductor Industry, with the President as chair, will launch. Executive-level working teams from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix inspected the site at the end of last month.
The usual process after designating a national industrial complex, which normally takes more than nine years, is being considered for reduction to four years. The South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City has set June 2030 as its target for mass production.
The first challenge is relocating the military airport. The feasibility of relocation, along with securing power and water infrastructure and building an ecosystem for materials, parts, and equipment, is seen as crucial to the success of the accelerated schedule.
The project to build a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region on 8.26 million square meters, or 2.5 million pyeong, of the former Gwangju military airport site is progressing quickly. (Graphic by Solution News, Gu Su-dam)
The plan to create a semiconductor cluster worth 800 trillion won on the site of the former Gwangju military airport is moving forward at high speed. Just one month after the site was finalized, a government control tower was launched and companies conducted on-site inspections.
On the 6th of last month, at a public-private joint review meeting on mega projects held at the Blue House, the government finalized 8.26 million square meters around the Gwangju military airport as the site for the Honam semiconductor cluster. The idea is to advance both the Yongin semiconductor cluster and the Honam cluster at the same time, creating two major production bases linking the Seoul metropolitan area and Honam.
This is a project in which Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will each build two semiconductor fabrication plants, for a total of four fabs, and the two companies have announced investment plans totaling 800 trillion won. The military airport site was chosen because it is state-owned land, reducing the burden of land acquisition, and because the leveling work has already been completed.
The promotion system has taken shape in just one month. On the 4th, the government approved a draft revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness, which includes provisions for the organization and operation of the Special Committee for Strengthening Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness. The semiconductor special committee is a pan-government control tower chaired by the President, with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Science and ICT among its members.
The companies have also moved quickly. About a month after the government’s announcement, executive-level and working-level staff from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix visited the Gwangju military airport site in turn at the end of last month to examine the site and transportation conditions. The two companies discussed investment plans with officials from the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City and consulted with Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power on power and water supply measures.
Local governments have also formed execution teams. Gwangju Special City has set up a joint task force with Gwangsan District, which has jurisdiction over the site, to handle permits and infrastructure support. Under this division of labor, the local government handles permits, while the central government takes charge of industrial complex designation, site handover, and power, water, and infrastructure.
The key to the accelerated schedule is shortening administrative procedures. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has decided to proceed simultaneously with the lifting of the green belt and the formulation of the national industrial complex development plan together with Korea Industrial Complex Corporation and Korea Land and Housing Corporation. It is also reviewing a plan to simplify the post-designation procedures for national industrial complexes, which usually take more than nine years, to about four years, roughly half the usual time.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to select the project operator and complete the cluster designation within this year, then move into securing power and water and handling permitting procedures. The secret to the speed is said to be shifting the development plan and infrastructure preparation from a sequential process to a simultaneous one. This is cited as the basis for the forecast that the June 2030 mass-production target set by Gwangju Special City may be achievable.
Gwangju Special City Mayor Min Hyung-bae said, “The Honam semiconductor cluster project has started at a very fast pace, and the process has been moving extremely quickly,” adding, “We will mobilize all practical support systems, including the semiconductor industry support team now in operation, to back the government’s drive for speed without gaps.”
The prerequisite for success in this race against time is relocating the military airport currently using the site. Gwangju Special City plans to quickly conclude negotiations with Muan County, which is being considered as the relocation destination.
However, because the host area for the military airport faces serious concerns over noise and safety, reaching agreement on compensation and support measures that residents can actually feel is regarded as the biggest hurdle for the entire project. Negotiations over relocating the 1st Fighter Wing and U.S. Forces Korea facilities must also be resolved.
There are also calls from within and outside the region for compensation and support measures to be spelled out early in the consultation process involving residents of the relocation area, so that conflict costs can be reduced as progress accelerates.
Power and water are also key issues. Semiconductor fabs continuously consume massive amounts of electricity and industrial water, so power generation, transmission networks, and water supply systems must be put in place at the same pace as factory construction if the mass-production schedule is to be met.
The government has set a goal of building infrastructure so that at least one fab from each of the two companies can begin operation by the end of 2029, and additional construction of the Yeonggwang nuclear power plant is even being considered in connection with power supply.
Gwangju Special City has also presented a plan to create a materials, parts, and equipment ecosystem in which partner companies of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix and research institutions grow together, as well as an advanced corporate-style city. The plan is also seen as an experiment in regionally dispersing semiconductor production, more than 80% of which is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area. Analysts say whether the compressed schedule can lead to actual mass production will depend on agreement with the relocation area and the speed of infrastructure development.