president-megaprojects

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday attended a ceremony marking the launch of a high-tech industrial project in the Chungcheong region, pledging to push ahead with the initiative in a way that benefits regional areas and the general public.

The ceremony was held at Samsung Electronics Co.'s semiconductor packaging plant in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, as the Chungcheong region's portion of the Lee administration's "megaprojects" got under way.

The megaproject initiative, unveiled earlier this year, aims to build a semiconductor manufacturing cluster and invest in the development of data centers and physical artificial intelligence technologies in regional areas, promoting growth in both advanced industries and underdeveloped regions.

Through combined investments totaling 392 trillion won (US$294.4 billion), companies, including Samsung, plan to establish large-scale chip packaging facilities to turn the Chungcheong region into a packaging hub for memory chips. The Chungcheong program is part of the "three megaprojects" initiative, worth over 4,000 trillion won, that seeks to build a new semiconductor production cluster and AI data centers in regions, including the southwestern region of Jeolla.

Addressing the ceremony, the president said he expects the project to help drive a "great leap forward" in the Chungcheong region and lay the groundwork for South Korea to become a global leader in advanced industries.

"I will focus all policy resources on ensuring that the megaproject initiative goes beyond expanding corporate manufacturing facilities into regional areas and helps achieve genuinely balanced state development and growth for all," the president said.

He also pledged government support for the implementation of the investments through administrative procedures and infrastructure development, expressing hope that the projects would provide new business opportunities for regional companies and merchants and create jobs for young people living in regional areas.

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