Meeting follows last week's closed-door session with SK Group's Chey Tae-won
Honam semiconductor cluster seen entering final coordination stage
![President Lee Jae Myung speaks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong at a state dinner at the Presidential Palace in Rome on June 11 (local time), during Lee's state visit to Italy. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/25/news-p.v1.20260612.b07b9e603dad4a89ad033b402157806f_P1.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung is set to hold a closed-door meeting Thursday with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The session follows a private meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on June 19, and is seen as part of the president's effort to discuss new semiconductor investments — including the creation of a Honam semiconductor cluster — and regional balanced development with the two groups leading the industry.
Political and business circles expect discussions are entering a final coordination stage ahead of a public-private joint conference on a "Great Transformation of National Land and Space," set for Sunday. Attention is also focused on whether large-scale regional investment plans by major companies, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, will be unveiled at that event.
At a press conference marking his first anniversary in office on June 8, President Lee said he would "soon unveil to the public a large-scale investment project that will bring about a great transformation in growth strategy."
Kim Yong-beom, chief of the Cheong Wa Dae policy office, said Tuesday at a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club that discussions on establishing a second semiconductor cluster in the Honam and Chungcheong regions were "approaching the final stage."
When asked whether the site for the second semiconductor cluster would be in the Honam region, Kim said, "That is the principle we should follow."
moone@heraldcorp.com
