Lee goes to Gwangju to launch Korea's AI Industrial Revolution

President Lee Jae Myung traveled to Gwangju to pitch South Korea's southwest as the starting point for the country's "AI Industrial Revolution," backed by massive investments in chips, artificial intelligence data centers and related industries.

Lee attended an event unveiling a development vision for advanced industries in the southwestern region Tuesday.

The gathering followed Monday's announcement of massive regional investment plans drawn up by the government, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, centered on three megaprojects: semiconductors, AI data centers and physical AI.

At an event in Gwangju on Tuesday, major chipmakers unveiled investment plans totaling 896 trillion won ($578 billion) for the southwestern region, including about 800 trillion won earmarked for the construction of four memory chip fabs.

"We will launch a Korean-style artificial intelligence industrial revolution — driven by the regions and expanding across the world — right here in the southwest," Lee said in his pre-written congratulatory remarks at the event.

Lee said the southwest has advantages to become a chip and AI hub, citing abundant renewable energy, transport infrastructure and a growing AI ecosystem.

"In hindsight, the southwest was already well positioned for this moment."

Lee pledged that a special committee on semiconductor competitiveness would be launched with the implementation of the Special Semiconductor Act in August.

"As president, I will personally chair the committee and make it a powerful 'control tower' for investment in the southwest," he said. "To ensure that these projects do not remain mere plans and suffer even a one-month delay, I will set up a dedicated team at Cheong Wa Dae and responsibly support the entire process until the very end."

Lee pledged firm government support to "help companies translate bold challenges and innovation into tangible results."

Lee said the government would pursue a "bold push for financial and tax support," make the construction of core infrastructure — including industrial sites, electricity and water supply — a "national top priority," and comprehensively review regulations that hinder investment.

The Honam region in southwestern South Korea is set to receive the largest share of the planned investment under the government's development initiative, which aims to establish a second semiconductor manufacturing cluster alongside the existing chip hub in Gyeonggi Province. The project will be centered on Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, which are scheduled to merge Wednesday.

At the event, Samsung Electronics and its affiliates said they would invest 425 trillion won to build two of the fabs, along with a national AI computing center and related facilities.

SK hynix plans to spend about 470 trillion won on the other two fabs and a 1-gigawatt AI data center.

Amkor Technology Korea also unveiled plans to expand its advanced semiconductor packaging operations in the region.

At the event, Lee used an 18-minute impromptu speech to defend the rationale behind the investment in the southwestern region and dismiss opposition criticism that the plan disproportionately favors a traditional stronghold of his party.

Lee said the investment would help ease longstanding regional imbalances between the southwestern Honam region and the southeastern Yeongnam region, which emerged as a major manufacturing and shipbuilding hub during South Korea's industrialization.

"Concentrating resources in one area may have generated economic efficiency, but it also resulted in significant disparities between the eastern and western parts of the country," Lee said.

"For those who were left behind, it must have been a source of deep sorrow, loneliness and frustration. Fortunately, we now have an opportunity to begin overcoming some of that hardship."

Lee reiterated that the investment "marked the beginning of more balanced growth between the east and west, as well as between the capital region and the provinces," underscoring the significance of one of his administration's flagship policy goals: achieving more balanced regional development.

Lee also vowed to personally oversee the initiative, saying he wanted to prove that it was "not just another political show, but a genuine commitment that will be carried through."

Tuesday's visit marked the first stop on Lee's tour of key regional growth hubs this week.

Lee is scheduled to travel to Asan, South Chungcheong Province, on Thursday to present a vision for the development of advanced industries in the Chungcheong region, with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Celltrion set to participate.

On Friday, Lee will head to Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, for a similar event focused on the Yeongnam region, where Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor and Hanwha Group are expected to present investment plans.