Samsung Group and SK Group are reportedly preparing to invest as much as 2,000 trillion won (US$1.3 trillion) over the next decade to support South Korea’s long-term industrial ambitions, according to the Korea Economic Daily.
The reported investment package is expected to be unveiled during a meeting at the presidential office on Monday, where President Lee Jae Myung will launch his flagship “Three Mega Projects for the Great Leap Forward” initiative.
According to the report, Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. are each expected to build four to five semiconductor fabrication plants in the Gwangju area. Samsung is also said to be planning chip packaging facilities in South Chungcheong Province, while SK Hynix is expected to expand its NAND flash manufacturing plants in North Chungcheong Province.
The investments are expected to focus on strategic industries including semiconductors, artificial intelligence data centres and physical AI, reinforcing South Korea’s efforts to strengthen its position in advanced technology manufacturing.
South Korea’s presidential office said officials from the industry, science, climate and land ministries will outline the government’s policy measures before Samsung and SK present their respective investment plans.
The reported 2,000 trillion won commitment would exceed an earlier report by Maeil Business Newspaper, which said Samsung alone was preparing investments exceeding 1,000 trillion won, or about US$646 billion.
Adding to expectations ahead of the announcement, presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom said in a YouTube interview on Friday that “very unusual” figures would be revealed when President Lee meets major companies on June 29.
If confirmed, the proposed investment would rank among the largest long-term corporate spending commitments in South Korea’s history, underscoring the country’s drive to expand semiconductor capacity and accelerate AI development.
Bloomberg
