South Korea's President Lee pushes rapid approvals for semiconductor and AI mega projects

President Lee Jae Myung urged South Korean officials to accelerate permitting and infrastructure provision for the country’s flagship semiconductor and artificial‑intelligence (AI) mega‑projects. He warned that the six‑year timeline for the Yongin industrial complex was insufficient and said "only speed matters," calling for faster land acquisition, power and water supply arrangements. The government’s plan includes roughly 800 trillion won in semiconductor investment in the southwest and an 81 trillion won packaging cluster in Chungcheong, with multiple new system‑semiconductor fabs slated for the Yongin site and a major AI data‑center network. Lee also instructed that existing environmental impact assessments be reused where possible and that any new reviews be drastically shortened, while still addressing baseload electricity needs. Analysts note the push aims to keep South Korea competitive against the U.S. CHIPS Act, China’s state‑backed chip program, and Taiwan’s established semiconductor sector.