Min Hyung-bae, mayor of the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city, toured candidate sites for a semiconductor factory in Gwangju on Thursday to assess their readiness.
Min visited the military airport site in Gwangsan-gu that afternoon, inspecting infrastructure including power and water supply facilities.
He walked the airport's wide runways and checked the condition of the grounds, also reviewing how the power and other utility systems are configured.
The military airport site has been cited as a leading candidate, given its large footprint and existing infrastructure such as electricity and water supply.
Min then visited two other candidate sites for a semiconductor fabrication plant — the future mobility national industrial complex and the Cheomdan 3 district, both in Gwangsan-gu — to review semiconductor-related preparations.
On Wednesday, Min visited Korea Electric Power Corp. and the Korea Water Resources Corporation to check on power and water supply conditions.
"If the military airport relocates, this becomes the best possible site for a semiconductor factory. There are two wide runways here that could be used as factory grounds — the land is well-suited for it," Min said. "I still don't have a clear sense of where the semiconductor site will be. The power supply arrangements will differ depending on which site is chosen."
He added that Muan-gun had said it would review the military airport relocation process, warning that the county must not backtrack on that commitment.
sij@heraldcorp.com
