Presidential official refutes electricity supply concerns over Honam chip cluster plan
Kim Woo-chang, presidential secretary for state artificial intelligence policy, speaks during a meeting unveiling the Global AI Hub at Government Complex Seoul, March 24. Newsis
A senior presidential official on Friday rejected skepticism that the southwestern Honam region may not have enough electricity supply capacity to power a government-envisioned semiconductor cluster in the region.
Kim Woo-chang, presidential secretary for state artificial intelligence (AI) policy, made the remarks in his appearance on a radio program by state-run broadcaster KBS, days after the government announced plans to establish a chip cluster in Honam.
Under the plan, the government aims to develop the country's second semiconductor cluster in Honam, in addition to the first one in the capital region, in a bid to preemptively secure chip production capabilities amid intensifying competition in the AI industry.
Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Group, the parent group for SK hynix, have committed large-scale investments to the project.
The semiconductor investment is part of the government's "three mega projects" initiative, which calls for large-scale investments in semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers.
The chip cluster plan has drawn skepticism that the southwest region might not have enough power generation capacity to supply electricity to such a large-scale project.
During the radio appearance, Kim rejected the criticism, saying, "The southwest region already has enough renewable energy (capacity), and it can be expanded further."
The presidential secretary noted the southwest region, along with the southeastern Busan region and the eastern Gangwon region, house the country's major power generation facilities.
"Our only remaining choice was to establish production facilities close to electricity generation sources," he said, defending the selection of Honam for the cluster plan.
Honam is the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's political stronghold and is deemed the country's largest source of solar power generation.
Addressing a question about whether renewable energy generation would be sufficient to supply electricity for the cluster project, Kim said the country's power grid is interconnected nationwide, making it unnecessary to rely on a single source of electricity generation.
The secretary also stressed that the government will swiftly push ahead with the Honam chip cluster project under President Lee's direct oversight.
"It took six years just to break ground in Yongin, but (President Lee is) determined to reduce that to zero (in Honam)," Kim said, referring to the existing chip cluster project in the metropolitan Yongin area.
"A new task force will soon be established, and the president will personally oversee (the project)," he added.