[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ] On the 30th, President Lee Jae-myung emphasized that the large-scale high-tech industry investments being made in the Honam region— SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660)—represent “an urgent promise to break the vicious cycle of unbalanced development that has led to marginalization and exclusion, and to move toward a better future.”

On that day, President Lee posted on his social media, “We have taken the first step toward a grand leap forward—from a land of marginalization to a hub of the future,” adding, “As if to prove the adage that ‘Without Honam, there is no nation,’ we have vigorously begun the first step today on our grand journey to leap forward as an industrial powerhouse with a commanding lead.”

He continued, “We are now witnessing a historic moment where a past marked by long-standing discrimination and hardship is transforming into a future of hope,” adding, “From the potential to supply the necessary power on a massive scale to industrial land that can be secured quickly and flexibly, the sad history of Honam—which had been excluded from development—has instead created new opportunities.”

SamsungElectronics and SK hynix are undertaking large-scale investments totaling over 800 trillion won in the Southwest region, including Gwangju. Potential sites for SamsungElectronics and SK hynix’s fabs in the Southwest region include the High-Tech District 3 and the military airport site. Industry insiders have called for support—such as the expansion of nuclear power—to facilitate large-scale semiconductor investments in Gwangju.

At the “Public Briefing on the Development Vision for High-Tech Industries in the Southwest Region,” held that day at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman and Head of SamsungElectronics’ Device Solutions (DS) Division, said, “SamsungElectronics plans to invest 425 trillion won in the Honam region, focusing on semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, and high-tech sectors,” adding, “In particular, we plan to make Gwangju a global semiconductor hub.”

Kwak No-jeong, President and CEO of SK hynix, also participated in the event and remarked, “The global memory supply shortage is worsening, and the need to rapidly secure a semiconductor cluster is growing.” The previous day, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won had announced plans to invest 400 trillion won to establish a semiconductor cluster centered on SuNAM Co., Ltd.

President Lee said, “I would like to once again express my gratitude to SamsungElectronics CEO Jeon Young-hyun, SK hynix CEO Kwak No-jeong, and Amkor Korea CEO Lee Jin-an for their bold investment decisions,” adding, “The government will provide firm support to ensure that companies’ bold challenges and innovations lead to tangible results.”