Kim Sung-hwan, minister of climate, energy and environment, receives a briefing in front of the Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex site in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
Kim Sung-hwan, minister of climate, energy and environment, receives a briefing in front of the Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex site in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

The government has decided to supply electricity to the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex in Gyeonggi Province by 2042 — 11 years ahead of the previously planned 2053 target.

The revised timeline aligns with decisions by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to complete their semiconductor fabrication plants seven and 12 years earlier than originally planned, respectively.

Minister Kim Sung-hwan of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment visited the Yongin semiconductor complex site Wednesday and announced the updated power supply schedule.

For the advanced system semiconductor national industrial complex, where Samsung Electronics' fab will be built, the government plans to supply power in phases. In the first phase, through 2030, an LNG power plant will be built within the complex and transmission lines connecting it to nearby areas will be reinforced. In the second phase, through 2036, the capacity of existing transmission networks will be expanded. By 2042, power generation from the central and Yeongdong regions will be fully mobilized to meet the complex's electricity needs — bringing the target date forward by 11 years from the previous 2053 goal, the ministry said.

For the general industrial complex where SK Hynix's fab will be located, transmission lines connecting the complex to nearby power grids will be built by next year, enabling electricity supply to begin then. A combined heat and power plant inside the complex will be completed by 2029 to meet growing power demand. Additional demand will be addressed through transmission lines to be built between 2031 and 2032, with plans to construct the lines alongside roads to improve community acceptance.

On industrial water supply, the government decided to accelerate completion of the ongoing integrated water supply project. The first phase — designed to deliver 310,000 tons of water per day — will be completed in May 2029, moved up from January 2031. The second phase, which will supply 760,000 tons per day, will be incorporated into the national water master plan, with design work beginning in the second half of this year and completion targeted for July 2034.

"Semiconductors are an irreplaceable core national strategic industry, and it is more important than anything not to miss the golden window for investment," Kim said. "The government will concentrate all its capabilities on supplying power and water — the essential infrastructure for the Yongin semiconductor complex — at the right time."


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