Gwangju site, Jeonnam power and water combined… First mass production target for 2030

Gwangju site, Jeonnam power and water combined... First mass production target for 2030

Linkage between AI, renewable energy, and public institution relocation… Solving military airport and population issues

[※ Editor's note = The 8th marks the 100th day since Jeonnam and Gwangju were merged and launched as Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City. So far, we have laid the foundation for growth by establishing an integrated metropolitan government framework and attracting a semiconductor cluster. However, many tasks still remain before practical integration. Yonhap News is publishing three special articles that look back on the 100 days of integration and look at achievements and challenges.]

(Jeonnam Gwangju = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Cheol-hong = As Jeonnam and Gwangju were merged into one ultra-wide local government, the power of integration began to appear first in the local community, especially in the industrial sector.

With Jeonnam's power, water, and renewable energy infrastructure resources tied together in Gwangju's industrial base and site, it became the foundation for making the ultra-large investment plan of the 800 trillion won Honam area semiconductor cluster a new growth axis for the region.

Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City is planning to build a super-wide industrial ecosystem by not only attracting semiconductor factories, but also expanding to artificial intelligence (AI), renewable energy, data centers, and materials, parts, and equipment industries, and linking up to 20 trillion won of integrated support from the government and relocation of secondary public institutions.

◇ Gwangju site + Jeonnam power/water… Speed of realization of 800 trillion semiconductors

The Honam Area Semiconductor Cluster is a long-term investment project in which Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will build a total of four memory semiconductor production facilities (fabs), two each, in the Gwangju military airport area.

Following the announcement of the investment plan on June 29, the Gwangju Military Airport area was confirmed as the location and national industrial complex candidate site in July, and the government and the integrated city are speeding up the project with the goal of first mass production in the first phase in June 2030.

The construction of a large-scale semiconductor fab requires a large site, as well as enormous power and water, transportation and logistics networks, professional manpower, and settlement conditions.

Before integration, Gwangju's industrial land and corporate support policies and Jeonnam's power generation facilities, water resources, and renewable energy had to be coordinated between local governments, but now, one integrated city presents them as conditions for corporate investment and coordinates projects.

The integrated city plans to expedite fab construction by first developing approximately 630,000 pyeong of the planned national industrial complex site, including the site where ammunition depots are scheduled to be relocated.

Electricity will initially be supplied at 3.1GW and then increased to a final capacity of approximately 6.3GW in line with the expansion of production facilities. Water supply will also be secured first at 150,000 tons per day by the end of 2028, and then supply capacity will be expanded in stages.

In the financial sector, out of the maximum 20 trillion won in financial incentives secured through integration, 6 trillion won from 2027 to 2030 was decided to be invested in semiconductor infrastructure, forward and backward industrial ecosystems, and training of professional manpower.

Investment in semiconductors became a new driving force even before the long-term relocation of Gwangju Military Airport.

As the military airport site had to be vacated in order to build a semiconductor production facility in a timely manner, the relocation of the military airport went beyond long-standing local issues and was linked to the national high-tech industry investment schedule.

The government is also carrying out temporary dispersal and relocation procedures of military functions in line with the start of fab construction.

◇ Industry expansion into AI, energy, and materials department manager… Expecting an influx of jobs and population

The future industrial map drawn by the integrated city does not end with Fab 4.

The plan is to attract materials, parts, and equipment companies centered on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and connect the existing back-end process base, such as Amkor Technology Korea in Gwangju, to integrate the front-end and back-end semiconductor industries in the region.

By linking Haenam Solaseado's national AI computing center, private data center, and Jeonnam's renewable energy production base, it can be expanded into a super-wide industrial axis connecting semiconductor production, post-processing, AI, and energy.

The secondary public institution relocation strategy is also changing accordingly.

After announcing the semiconductor investment plan, the integrated city is promoting the establishment of an industrial ecosystem that connects energy public institutions in the existing Naju Innovation City with companies, universities, and research institutes, including adding semiconductor and AI-related institutions to the attraction target.

If semiconductor investment becomes a reality, the effects are expected to extend beyond the industrial sector to the local urban structure and living areas.

Large-scale fabs and partner companies create production and research and development jobs, promoting the influx of professionals and their families, which can also increase demand for expansion of residential infrastructure such as housing, schools, medical care, culture, and transportation.

The expansion of semiconductor talent training and corporate-tailored education at local universities will serve as an opportunity to create a structure in which young people receive education and employment in the region.

In addition, the influx of businesses and people is expected to help expand local consumption, alleviate population decline, and expand the local tax base in the long term.

However, the creation of an industrial complex, relocation to the military airport, and power and water supply chains must be established according to the company's schedule, and it remains a task to spread the effects of semiconductor investment to industries and jobs throughout Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, not limited to the Gwangju military airport area.

An official from the local business community predicted, “Whether the semiconductor investment plan can be spread as a growth engine for the entire region by connecting it with actual companies, jobs, and population influx and combining it with AI, renewable energy, and public institution relocation will be a test to gauge the economic effect of integration.”