Overview
- President Lee ordered the temporary transfer of military operations from Gwangju Air Base to other airfields by mid‑2028 to clear roughly 8.3 million square meters for a Honam semiconductor cluster.
- The government will create a 5 trillion‑won semiconductor fund and supply 5 trillion won in trade finance for suppliers, while Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have pledged about 800 trillion won in private investment for the regional chip build‑out.
- Seoul plans to pass a Mega Special Zone Act this year to speed permits, environmental reviews and infrastructure delivery and has set concrete utility targets such as securing 650,000 tonnes of water per day for Gwangju by 2030 and supplying 14.7 gigawatts to Yongin by 2041.
- The Defense Ministry committed to push the mid‑2028 relocation timeline and to consult closely with US Forces Korea because Gwangju is a collocated operating base used by both South Korean and U.S. air units.
- On Wednesday the government also unveiled the SEED program to back seven ‘seed’ technologies including SMRs, fusion, quantum and aerospace as a follow‑on strategy that aims to spread jobs, housing needs and industrial activity beyond the Seoul area while legal and U.S. consultations will determine how quickly construction can begin.