President Lee Jae Myung Pledges Full Support for 800 Trillion Won Semiconductor Cluster

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday reaffirmed the government's all-out support for the mega investment plans by Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Group unveiled the previous day as part of an 800 trillion-won (US$519 billion) project for the creation of a semiconductor cluster in the southwestern region.

The project, announced in a government event led by Lee on Monday, envisions the construction of two memory chip fabrication plants by Samsung and two fabs by SK hynix in the southwestern city of Gwangju and the surrounding Jeolla provinces.

"The government will actively support it so that your decision to choose your country's future over a foreign country does not end up being the wrong decision," Lee said during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.

"Every ministry should not spare its preemptive and full support based on close cooperation with local governments so that the companies that made a big decision experience no difficulties in their investment activities," he added.

The plan has drawn praise from the ruling bloc but criticism from the main opposition People Power Party over what it claims to be discrimination against other regions and a calculated political move to bolster support for the Lee administration ahead of the ruling Democratic Party (DP)'s national convention in August.

The southwestern region is the traditional base of the liberal DP.

Lee addressed the criticism, saying though it is true the latest investment targets the southwest, it may only be "a drop in the bucket" when compared to the large investments made in the rival southeastern region over the years.

He noted the "exclusion" and "discrimination" experienced by the southwest have only now turned out to be a "blessing in disguise" as the region was able to preserve its water, power and land supply needed for the latest project that many experts say may well decide the fate of the entire nation in the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

The Lee administration has touted the project as a model case where business interests align with the government's goal of achieving balanced development across regions.

Lee said at the previous day's event that the government should work to ensure the project does not meet the nation's needs at the cost of losses and risks to the companies involved.

Later Tuesday, he attended an event held in Gwangju to directly explain the government's plan to foster advanced industries to the people in the city and its surrounding area.

On the three mega projects unveiled the previous day, including the chip cluster, he promised to personally oversee them and take full responsibility.

"I want to clearly demonstrate that this is not a 'political show' or just for show and that we are actually doing it," the president said.