[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-wook] As #Samsung Electronics and #SK Hynix are reportedly considering semiconductor facility investments in the Honam and Chungcheong regions, the government has begun the process of selecting the "5-Pole 3-Special Growth Engines" to attract investment outside the Seoul metropolitan area.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the "5-Pole 3-Special Growth Engine Strategy Forum" on the 10th at the Gwangju Artificial Intelligence Industry Convergence Business Group, presided over by Vice Minister Moon Shin-hak.
The "5 Poles and 3 Special Zones" is a national balanced development strategy that aims to move away from the current single-pole system centered on the Seoul metropolitan area by reorganizing the country into five super-regional zones (Seoul Metropolitan Area, Southeast Region, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Region, Central Region, and Honam Region) and three special self-governing provinces (Gangwon, Jeonbuk, and Jeju). Starting with Gwangju today, the government will hold forums across each of the "5 Poles and 3 Specials" regions, excluding the Seoul Metropolitan Area, to continue discussions on determining tailored growth engines for each region.
To attract large-scale investments from major anchor companies that will drive these regional “growth engines,” the government plans to provide a seven-part support package covering fiscal, financial, human resources, infrastructure, and regulatory exemptions.
The most closely watched development is the potential for new investments by semiconductor companies in the Honam and Chungcheong regions. Following President Lee Jae-myung’s announcement on the 8th that he would soon unveil large-scale investment projects, there are expectations that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will soon announce plans to expand their semiconductor investments in the Honam and Chungcheong regions. A business community roundtable chaired by President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled for the 29th, and observers predict that investment plans for major industries—including semiconductors—outside the Seoul metropolitan area will be unveiled at that time.
Although there have been no official announcements from the government or companies yet, specific talk within the industry suggests that Samsung Electronics will build a semiconductor packaging (back-end) plant in Gwangju. The possibility of additional investment by SK Hynix in the Honam and Chungcheong regions is also being discussed.
Min Hyung-bae, the mayor-elect of Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, also hinted on the 8th that the government and industry are preparing large-scale investment plans, stating, “We will soon hear announcements from the government and companies regarding the semiconductor industry.” Mayor-elect Min is making concerted efforts to secure groundbreaking growth engines, including appointing former Samsung Electronics President Jung Eun-seung as the chair of the Grand Transformation Planning Committee.
At the first Growth Engine Strategy Forum held in Gwangju that day, representatives from #Kia, which operates a factory in Gwangju, and Gwangju Metropolitan City attended and emphasized the need for policy and financial support from the central government to fuel growth in the Honam region.
In response, Vice Minister Moon Shin-hak stated, “We will mobilize all available policy measures to support the ‘5 Poles and 3 Special Zones’ regions so that each can build its own independent industrial ecosystem and grow.”
Meanwhile, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) released a report titled “Proposals for Regional Industrial Strategies under the ‘5 Poles, 3 Special Zones’ System” (by Research Fellow Kim Song-nyeon) on the same day. The report suggested that for the strategy to foster growth engines in the “5 Poles, 3 Special Zones” system to succeed, each region must move beyond simply listing promising industries and instead use the attraction of investment from core (anchor) companies as a “spark plug” to materialize these initiatives into ultra-regional projects. The report argues that, in addition to attracting investment from anchor companies, efforts should be made to simultaneously attract key supply chain firms and involve local mid-sized and small businesses. Furthermore, high-value-added functions such as research facilities, as well as joint R&D and human resource supply systems between universities and research institutions, should be integrated into a single project and promoted as a unified initiative.
