SEOUL — South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung is calling on government officials to move without delay in getting major chip and artificial intelligence projects off the ground, following a sweeping investment announcement made last week.
Speaking at a government meeting on Monday, Lee stressed that the nation’s ability to lead in advanced industries depends on how quickly it can act. He cautioned that bottlenecks in permitting, land acquisition, and securing reliable power and water supplies could jeopardize South Korea’s position in the global race for technological dominance.
“In this situation, it appears the outcome will be decided by who moves faster and who secures the lead first,” Lee said. “Only speed matters.”
Lee pointed to the Yongin industrial complex as an example of how slow the process can be, noting it took six years from site selection to breaking ground — and that timeline was actually considered relatively quick. He called on officials to shorten environmental reviews and other approval steps wherever possible, and said processes that are typically handled one after another should instead be pursued simultaneously.
The president also directed officials to get ahead of power and water infrastructure needs rather than waiting until projects are underway. He highlighted electricity as a particularly critical concern for chip manufacturing facilities, noting that companies have already expressed worries about reliable baseload power supply despite growth in renewable energy. Lee ordered officials to proactively address those concerns.
Lee also said government representatives and corporate leaders should begin talking about specific locations for the planned facilities.
Last week, South Korea unveiled a plan involving more than $576 billion in investment targeting the chip and AI sectors, with a goal of establishing global leadership and spreading economic growth beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are each set to invest 400 trillion won — roughly $260 billion apiece — to construct new chip manufacturing sites in the country’s southwest. An additional 81 trillion won is expected to flow into a chip-packaging cluster in the Chungcheong region.
(Exchange rate: $1 = 1,530.9 won)
