President Lee Jae Myung, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won clasp hands at Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday after announcing corporate investment plans at a public briefing on three major mega-projects. [Cheong Wa Dae Press Photographers Pool] (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won clasp hands at Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday after announcing corporate investment plans at a public briefing on three major mega-projects. [Cheong Wa Dae Press Photographers Pool] (Yonhap)

Business groups in Gwangju welcomed Sunday's announcement by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix of plans to invest in semiconductor facilities in Gwangju and the southwestern region.

The Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it expects the move to mark "a historic turning point in which the advanced semiconductor industrial ecosystem, previously concentrated in the Greater Seoul area, expands into the southwestern region including Gwangju and South Jeolla Province," adding that it would meaningfully accelerate balanced national development.

The chamber also expressed hope that the investment would give local youth a foundation to "learn, work and build their futures right here, without having to leave for the Greater Seoul area in search of opportunity." It pledged to work alongside the community to create a business-friendly environment and build an industrial ecosystem that would allow the investment to take root and generate quality jobs over the long term.

The Gwangju Employers Federation called the announcement "the largest-ever regional mega-project achieved through the combined efforts of the government and major conglomerates under the banner of balanced national development," saying it extended its wholehearted welcome, support and gratitude on behalf of the regional business community.

The federation added that establishing semiconductor front-end process lines in the Gwangju and South Jeolla Province area — the first such facilities outside the Greater Seoul region, which had previously concentrated capacity in Yongin and Pyeongtaek — would mark "a monumental turning point in diversifying the next-generation engines of national growth." It said it would actively cooperate as a partner to the government, local authorities and investing companies to ensure the successful establishment of the semiconductor mega-cluster.


sij@heraldcorp.com