Jeonnam-Gwangju Expands Semiconductor Belt

Candidate site for the relocation of Gwangju Military Airport (Provided by Yonhap News)  The semiconductor cluster, which has been promoted centering on the Gwangju region, will be expanded into a wide-area industrial ecosystem encompassing the industrial complexes in the southwestern and eastern regions of Jeonnam-Gwangju. The initiative aims to broaden the industrial ripple effects across the entire Consolidated Special City by linking the existing core industry bases of petrochemicals and steel to the semiconductor materials industry. According to the Jeonnam-Gwangju Consolidated Special City and the City Council, the consolidated city will fully commence the establishment of the Semiconductor Chemical Material Industry Promotion Plan in November. The core of this plan lies in reflecting the eastern region industrial complexes in the Honam Region Semiconductor Cluster Designation Plan and creating a new ecosystem by attracting domestic and foreign enterprises specialized in semiconductor chemical materials, parts, and equipment. The Yeosu petrochemical industry, the core of the eastern region, will be fostered and advanced into a high value-added chemical material industry for semiconductors. The Yeosu National Industrial Complex is currently facing pressure for industrial restructuring due to global oversupply and high-cost structures. The city has established a strategy to designate Yeosu as a Proactive Response Zone for Industrial and Employment Crises to promote fiscal and financial support as well as employment stabilization measures, while simultaneously converting the existing petrochemical production base into a semiconductor supply chain. During this industrial restructuring process, the policy is to provide support so that large conglomerates and medium- and small-sized enterprises can secure competitiveness together. The city expects that by applying the existing technological prowess of the Yeosu Industrial Complex to the semiconductor materials sector, it can simultaneously achieve the structural transformation of the core industry and the fostering of new high-tech industries. This plan aligns with the southwestern region industrial promotion strategy announced by Mayor Min Hyung-bae. Mayor Min expressed his intention to foster the Muan National Industrial Complex as a core axis of the Honam region semiconductor industrial ecosystem. Furthermore, the underlying plan is to generate synergy by organically connecting Shinan's renewable energy, the Haenam National AI Computing Center, and the shipbuilding industry foundations of Yeongam and Mokpo. The consolidated city is expediting the transition of existing industries to high value-added sectors through the training of specialized personnel and the agglomeration of related enterprises. This effectively completes a massive semiconductor belt that sets the semiconductor production facilities in the Gwangju region as the central axis and links the hub industrial complexes of the southwestern region with the materials industry of the eastern region. The city plans to explain this policy for fostering the eastern region semiconductor industry in detail through questions on municipal administration at the council on Oct. 13. The industry attention is focused on whether the Yeosu Industrial Complex, which is undergoing industrial structural restructuring, can be reborn as the core of the semiconductor materials supply chain to create new investments and jobs.