South Korea’s 800 trillion won Honam chip plan faces political and local hurdles

South Korea is speeding up plans for an 800 trillion won chip complex in the Honam region, around Gwangju.

The project is planned to include four memory-chip factories for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on the site of Gwangju’s military airport.

The government wants the first factories completed and producing chips during its current term, while company and government officials have visited the site to support an early start.

Opposition lawmakers question whether companies chose to invest freely and whether public funding and fast-tracked procedures are justified; the governing Democratic Party says the criticism is turning a regional development plan into a political fight.

Moving the military airport remains a major obstacle, with military operations, a replacement site and the cost of relocation still to be addressed.

Power, water, funding and local concerns also need solutions, and the city says construction costs have not yet been assessed because studies are under way.