The South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city and the Democratic Party of Korea have formally requested direct government designation of the Honam semiconductor cluster, a project valued at 800 trillion won.
The special city and the Democratic Party's South Jeolla-Gwangju chapter agreed at their first party-government consultative meeting, held at the National Assembly on Tuesday, to ask the government to designate the Honam semiconductor cluster through a direct government-led process rather than an open competitive application.
Designation as a "semiconductor cluster" would establish a legal basis for state funding of infrastructure — including power, water and roads — and grant the site exemptions from various regulations and licensing requirements, making it the formal legal starting point for developing a semiconductor industrial complex in earnest.
The Special Semiconductor Act, which took effect Aug. 11, allows the minister of trade, industry and energy to designate semiconductor clusters upon receiving designation applications accompanied by development plans.
If deemed necessary, the minister may also initiate a direct designation after consulting with relevant central government agencies and local authorities.
The integrated city believes that if the cluster designation proceeds through a competitive application process, it would require accepting applications and conducting review committee evaluations, potentially pushing the designation timeline into next year.
With the project targeting first mass production in 2030 and site development and infrastructure construction — including power and water supply — needing to move quickly, the request for direct designation aims to cut as much time as possible from the cluster designation stage.
sij@heraldcorp.com
