South Korea Unveils 392 Trillion-Won Investment Plan to Make Chungcheong an AI Hub

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday vowed to turn the central Chungcheong provinces into the global center of artificial intelligence (AI)-led innovation, as the government rolled out a follow-up plan for large-scale facility investment in the region. Speaking at a public briefing in Asan, about 80 kilometers south of Seoul, Lee promoted the tripolar mega project announced earlier this week, which aims to attract massive investment in semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, an industrywide 392 trillion-won (US$252.5 billion) investment will be injected into the central Chungcheong area. The plan includes high bandwidth memory (HBM) fabs and packaging facilities by Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix, as part of the government's drive to spread AI-led growth and turn South Korea into an industrial powerhouse in the emerging AI era.

Corporate Commitments

Samsung Group pledged to invest a total of 140 trillion won in Chungcheong Province. Samsung Electronics will invest 56 trillion won to build an HBM fab and packaging facility, while Samsung Display Co. will invest an additional 67 trillion won for an organic light-emitting diode and next-generation display production line. Samsung Electro-Mechanics will invest 8 trillion won in high-performance package substrate facilities for AI servers, and Samsung SDI Co. will invest 9 trillion won in an advanced battery manufacturing factory. Samsung Group expects the investments to create approximately 250,000 new jobs.

"Located at the heart of the country, the Chungcheong region will continue to grow into a global hub for IT materials and components," Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong said during a televised briefing. He also pledged to develop the region into a key base for AI-era materials and components.

SK hynix announced it will invest 100 trillion won in building a NAND flash and advanced packaging fab. Pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. pledged to invest 2 trillion won in a bio pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. Other companies are set to invest a combined 150 trillion won in an AI data center in the region.

To support the investment pledges, the industry ministry unveiled a strategy that includes tax incentives, policy financing, administrative support, and government subsidies. The government also pledged to foster a region-based industrial ecosystem where companies can carry out all stages of their business locally, from recruitment, education, and research and development to manufacturing.

President's Remarks

At the briefing, Lee emphasized the region's strategic importance. "Chungcheong possesses infinite growth potential," he said. "If it is combined with businesses' strategic investment and the government's firm will, Chungcheong will stand upright as the center of global innovation beyond the center of the Republic of Korea's advanced industry, that leads the AI era."

Lee described the four major advanced industries—semiconductors, displays, secondary batteries, and bio—as the key strategic industries that will determine the future of South Korea in the AI era. "The place where these four advanced industries form a single ecosystem is none other than Chungcheong," he said.

The president thanked the companies that made the investment pledges while expressing particular confidence in Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, whose grandfather, the late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, paved the way for South Korea's rise as a global chip leader. "Just as (his) foresight turned the Republic of Korea into a semiconductor powerhouse, I am confident that Chairman Lee Jae-yong's decisive leadership will spearhead a new leap forward for the Republic of Korea's advanced industries," Lee said.

Perspectives

The government welcomed the investment as a critical step toward national competitiveness in the AI era. President Lee emphasized that the tripolar mega project is not a "handout" for the regions but the only path to make the country "the final winner of the fourth industrial revolution." The industry ministry framed the investments as part of a broader strategy to advance technologies across the country and build an industrial ecosystem.

However, critics have accused the government of strong-arming conglomerates into making the investment commitments. The accusation suggests that some see the corporate pledges as less than voluntary, though no company has publicly disputed the plans.