SEOUL: South Korea is set to unveil three "mega-projects" to fuel its next growth phase, including a new semiconductor hub in the southwest that local media say could attract investments by Samsung and SK spanning hundreds of billions of dollars over several years.The announcement would mark President Lee Jae Myung's boldest push yet to align South Korea's AI and chip ambitions with his pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.Lee will preside over the event, framed as a national "great leap" due to be unveiled around 5am GMT (1pm, Singapore time), his office said, with ministries covering industry, science, climate and transport set to outline policy support.Samsung Electronics and SK are expected to present investment plans, and their chairmen, Jay Y Lee and Chey Tae-won, are among business leaders tipped to attend by local media.
Representatives of other firms, including LG Electronics, HD Hyundai Robotics, Korea Electric Power Corp and Korea Water Resources Corp, are also attending, Lee's office said.The package will span semiconductors, AI data centres and physical AI, including robotics, Lee's office said, while the president's social media posts signalled a new chip cluster planned for the underdeveloped southwest, including Gwangju and South Jeolla province.Local media have reported that the planned investments could exceed 1,000 trillion won (US$651.41 billion) over the coming years.South Korean construction and engineering shares surged in early trade ahead of the announcement on expectations the investments could drive massive regional infrastructure development.Major cement producers Asia Cement and Hanil Cement jumped 15 per cent and 7 per cent.The KOSPI fell more than 2 per cent, with both chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix down over 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively, as global tech stocks took a breather from their recent sharp rally.
