Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan answers lawmakers' questions at the first plenary session of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan answers lawmakers' questions at the first plenary session of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan said Wednesday that the government proposed the Honam region as the site for South Korea's second major semiconductor production hub — not the other way around.

Speaking at a plenary session of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, Kim said the government put forward the site after chipmakers indicated they needed one. The remark came in response to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Do-eup about who first proposed the Honam location.

"We proposed various sites, including Gwangju, and the companies made the final decision," Kim added.

Asked by People Power Party lawmaker Woo Jae-jun which other sites had been considered besides Gwangju, Kim confirmed that alternatives existed but declined to name them.

The Honam semiconductor cluster is to be built on the site of a military airfield in Gwangju. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are each planning to construct two semiconductor fabrication plants there, for a total of four fabs.

Kim signaled his intent to move quickly, pointing to the pace of TSMC's factory construction in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. "It took 27 months from announcement to completion for the TSMC plant in Kumamoto," he said. "Wouldn't we want to move faster than Japan?"

Kim also said the ministry is in talks with relevant government agencies to include an exemption from the 52-hour workweek in the mega special zone bill, which is set to be enacted this year.

When Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Won-i asked for specifics on the working-hours exemption, Kim said discussions are covering "various forms, including a white-collar exemption and flexible working-hour arrangements."

He said the ministry is also discussing expanding the unit for managing overtime from the current weekly basis to monthly, quarterly or semi-annual periods, and extending the application periods for flexible and selective working-hour systems. Asked whether a full exemption from the 52-hour cap was among the options under discussion, Kim said yes.


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