Minister dismisses skepticism after site visit to Gwangju military airfield

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan visits the Gwangju military airfield — a candidate site for the southwestern semiconductor industrial complex — on Monday to review progress with officials from the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, the Air Force, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation and other agencies, covering plans for the temporary relocation of air force units, industrial complex designation, site development, and power and water supply. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan visits the Gwangju military airfield — a candidate site for the southwestern semiconductor industrial complex — on Monday to review progress with officials from the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, the Air Force, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation and other agencies, covering plans for the temporary relocation of air force units, industrial complex designation, site development, and power and water supply. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan said corporate commitment to the Honam semiconductor cluster planned for the Gwangju military airfield site goes "well beyond willingness — companies are in a desperate situation."

Kim made the remarks Monday during an appearance on KBC Gwangju Broadcasting, pushing back against doubts about the project. "Given the fierce competition from China and other rivals, companies know they cannot maintain their competitiveness at the current pace," he said. "There is no reason to be skeptical."

The comments were a direct rebuttal to the People Power Party, which has used the ongoing national audit to repeatedly accuse the government of twisting companies' arms and raise concerns that investment plans could be disrupted or scrapped altogether.

Kim visited the Gwangju military airfield site the same day to review the project's progress alongside officials from the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, the Air Force, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Water Resources Corporation.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won had also toured the site on Friday — including the airfield and an ammunition depot area being considered as a key factory location — and pledged to build the semiconductor plant "at the fastest possible speed." It was the first time Chey had visited the site since the southwestern semiconductor investment plan was announced last June.

SK hynix has already moved up the target completion date for its Yongin semiconductor cluster by 12 years, from 2045 to 2033, but the company believes even that accelerated timeline will not be enough to sufficiently expand production capacity — hence the push to break ground on the Gwangju fab as well. The visits by both the company and the government served as concrete demonstrations of their commitment to the Honam semiconductor cluster.

Kim said the government has mobilized its full resources to ensure the Honam semiconductor cluster is completed as quickly as possible.

"As the president himself put it — not just a speed war, but a blitzkrieg — not only I but the entire Cabinet is running at full speed to meet what companies need," Kim said.

He also laid out a specific roadmap. The government plans to compress the industrial complex designation and land compensation process — which typically takes about five years — to complete the designation next year, and aims to move up the military airfield relocation, currently targeted for mid-2028, even further.

"We are targeting completion of the first fab in 2029 and the start of mass production in early 2030," Kim said. "Our review concluded that the 6.3 GW of power and 650,000 tons of water per day required present no major obstacles. I can say clearly that plans for substations and related infrastructure are also on track."

Kim called on the local community to throw its full support behind the project. "We need to warmly welcome the companies that chose this region over the greater Seoul area or overseas," he said, urging residents to help create stable living conditions for employees and to work together to cultivate specialized talent through local universities.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com