Rep. Bok Gi-wang of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]
Rep. Bok Gi-wang of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Bok Gi-wang, who represents Asan in South Chungcheong Province, and People Power Party lawmaker Eom Tae-young, who represents Jecheon and Danyang-gun in North Chungcheong Province, jointly introduced an amendment Thursday to the Industrial Sites and Development Act aimed at dramatically shortening the process for establishing national industrial complexes.

The move comes as intensifying global competition in advanced industries — including semiconductors, AI and future mobility — has made the rapid buildout of national industrial infrastructure an urgent priority.

Three mega-projects in semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers that will define South Korea's next 50 years are set to draw a combined 4,755 trillion won ($3.3 trillion), equivalent to 186 percent of the country's GDP. Experts have long argued that a faster industrial land supply system is essential to meet corporate investment demand in time.

Under current law, a project operator may begin land acquisition negotiations only after an industrial complex has been formally designated, meaning complex planning approval and land compensation must proceed sequentially — a process that has caused lengthy delays.

The amendment's centerpiece is a "preliminary project operator" system for national industrial complexes that require rapid development to secure national competitiveness — specifically those with large-scale investment plans already in place, the two lawmakers said.

A designated preliminary project operator would be allowed to conduct basic surveys of land and obstacles and begin negotiated compensation procedures even before the industrial complex is officially designated. The change would let permitting and land compensation proceed in parallel rather than in sequence, the lawmakers said, significantly cutting the time needed to bring a complex online.

To encourage landowners to negotiate voluntarily, the bill also allows an additional incentive payment — on top of standard compensation — for those who reach an agreement within a set period. It further establishes a legal basis for the central or local government to cover all or part of any losses incurred by a preliminary project operator that proactively pursued negotiated compensation under national policy but suffered losses through no fault of its own, such as a change in the designated complex boundary.

"The three mega-projects are the core growth engine for South Korea's next 50 years, representing 186 percent of GDP," Bok said. "Ultimately, whether these enormous projects succeed depends on how quickly we can supply the space and infrastructure for advanced industries to move in."

He added that it was unacceptable for companies that had already committed to investing to repeatedly miss the critical window because industrial complex development lagged behind. "Competition in advanced industries is a race against time," he said. "I hope this amendment will clear the bottleneck in national industrial complex development and give strong backing to corporate investment."

Eom said accelerating land acquisition — the most time-consuming step in building a national industrial complex — was indispensable for securing competitiveness in advanced industries. "This amendment will be a meaningful institutional improvement that supports the development of national strategic industries such as semiconductors and AI, the creation of RE100 industrial complexes, and balanced regional development," he said.

Eom also stressed that building industrial infrastructure to strengthen national competitiveness was not a partisan issue. "There is no ruling party or opposition party when it comes to laying the industrial foundation for national competitiveness," he said. "We will continue to cooperate across party lines on legislative tasks aimed at securing future growth engines and advancing regional development."


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