Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung met with Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Thursday to discuss plans for regional semiconductor investments, including the possible development of a chip cluster in the southwestern Honam region.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae focused on plans for the proposed Honam semiconductor cluster, as well as investment projects by top chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Inc. These discussions are part of the broader preparations for the government's upcoming conference on balanced regional development, which is tentatively scheduled for next Monday. Prior to this meeting, President Lee had engaged with the head of SK hynix to explore regional investment opportunities.
Industry sources suggest that during the latest discussions, Samsung Electronics might unveil a large-scale regional investment plan. Earlier, Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, indicated that the greater Seoul area is experiencing increasing constraints regarding land, electricity, and water resources. This has led the government to consider establishing an additional semiconductor cluster outside the capital region.
Currently, a semiconductor cluster is under construction in Yongin, just south of Seoul, and is anticipated to become a pivotal production hub for advanced semiconductor products produced by the two chipmaking giants. The Lee administration has emphasized balanced regional development as a central economic policy, targeting the creation of new growth engines across eight regions under its "five poles and three special zones" initiative. The establishment of a southern semiconductor belt is part of these efforts.
Earlier in the week, Lee Jae-yong visited Samsung's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production facilities, underscoring the company's commitment to maintaining technological leadership in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market. This visit coincided with Samsung's achievement of surpassing US$1 billion in cumulative sales of sixth-generation HBM chips, known as HBM4, within just four months of initiating mass production and shipments in February.
Industry observers anticipate that Samsung and SK hynix will invest hundreds of trillions of won in the Honam and Chungcheong regions to establish a comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem, along with renewable energy infrastructure to support AI industries. Discussions are also underway regarding the expansion of existing semiconductor production facilities in Chungcheong Province.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics continues to hold its position as the world's leading supplier of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips in the first quarter, as reported by market research firm Counterpoint Research.