The facilities of Samsung Electronics in South Korea. The company plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to build a semiconductor cluster in the country’s southwestern region. Photo by Samsung Electronics
June 30 (UPI) -- Two South Korean chipmakers' mega-sized investment plans disclosed on Monday have sparked controversy amid allegations that the decisions were made under political influence.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix announced plans to each spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build semiconductor factories in the country's southwestern areas, centered on Gwangju, about 165 miles south of Seoul.
Samsung Electronics plans to inject $270 billion in Gwangju and the surrounding areas to develop a global semiconductor cluster, AI data centers, and futuristic energy industries. Of the total, $258 billion will be allocated for semiconductor-related projects.
It is part of the company's long-term plan to invest a total of $1.71 trillion in South Korea to drive the development of next-generation high-tech industries. Samsung did not specify a timeline, though.
