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President rejects opposition claims that megaprojects are timed to boost his ratings
President Lee Jae Myung on July 4 dismissed opposition criticism that the government's regional investment drive was politically motivated. The three megaprojects target semiconductors, physical AI and data centers with 4,755 trillion won in planned spending.
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President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday rejected opposition criticism that the government's regional investment drive was aimed at boosting his approval ratings. He said the three megaprojects are designed to create new hope and a future for the country. Earlier this week the government unveiled the initiative focused on semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence and AI data centers.
It calls for a total investment of 4,755 trillion won, or US$3.11 trillion. Samsung announced plans to build two memory chip fabrication plants in Gwangju. SK hynix said it will construct two fabrication plants in the Jeolla provinces.
The companies' combined investment for the four plants totals 800 trillion won, or US$517.9 billion. Lee stated that if the projects had been intended to manage approval ratings, they would have been launched ahead of the June 3 local elections. He added that the national transformation plan was something he had long dreamed of even before taking office.
Lee said what matters more than approval ratings are tangible results that improve people's lives. He noted the initiative would create new hope and opportunities for the country and vowed to make all-out efforts to give hope, dreams and vitality to young people. On June 29 Lee held a meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul with Samsung Electronics Co.
Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to unveil the projects.
