Key facts
- South Korea unveiled a "three megaprojects" initiative focused on semiconductors, AI, and AI data centers.
- The initiative involves a total investment of 4,755 trillion won (US$3.11 trillion).
- Samsung and SK hynix plan to invest 800 trillion won in new fabrication plants in the southwestern region.
- President Lee Jae Myung stated the projects are for the country's future, not for boosting his approval ratings.
- Lee emphasized that tangible results improving people's lives are more important than political considerations.
President Lee Jae Myung has dismissed opposition claims that the government's ambitious "three megaprojects" initiative is designed to enhance his approval ratings. Speaking on Saturday, Lee asserted that these large-scale regional investment drives, focused on semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI), and AI data centers, are intended to create future opportunities and hope for South Korea.
The government's initiative, unveiled earlier this week, envisions a national transformation with a total investment of 4,755 trillion won (US$3.11 trillion). As part of this plan, major conglomerates Samsung and SK hynix have announced significant investments. Samsung plans to build two memory chip fabrication plants in Gwangju, while SK hynix will construct two similar facilities in the surrounding Jeolla provinces, collectively investing 800 trillion won (US$517.9 billion).
Lee argued that if the projects were politically motivated for approval ratings, they would have been launched before the recent June local elections. He stated on social media that tangible results improving people's lives are more important than approval ratings, vowing to dedicate all efforts to provide hope, dreams, and vitality to the nation's youth.