Overview
- President Lee presided over a public–private review on Monday and ordered the temporary transfer of Gwangju Air Base functions to other airfields by mid-2028 to speed construction of a planned chip cluster on the site.
- The Defense Ministry said Tuesday it will actively push for the mid-2028 temporary relocation and will consult U.S. Forces Korea about returning land that had been provided to USFK.
- The government unveiled finance measures that include a roughly 5 trillion won semiconductor fund and 5 trillion won in trade finance for suppliers while Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have pledged about 800 trillion won of investment for the Honam cluster.
- Seoul plans to introduce a special law on megaproject zones this year and seek passage of a 'Mega Special Zone Act' within the year to fast-track permits, environmental reviews and infrastructure delivery for the projects.
- Officials say they will secure power, water and worker housing on schedule but the timeline hinges on local approvals, parliamentary passage, U.S. coordination over the collocated base and the practical delivery of utilities which could affect job creation and tax revenue flows.