FSC chief pledges policy finance support for southwest Korea's semiconductor, energy hub ambitions

Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won pledged steady policy finance support Tuesday, saying the southwest region of South Korea would "establish itself anew as a key hub driving nationally important projects in semiconductors, energy and other sectors."

Lee made the remarks at the opening ceremony of KDB NextONE Gwangju, held at Korea Development Bank's Gwangju branch in South Jeolla Province. "Earlier this year, the government selected the Sinan-Ui offshore wind power project as the first project under the National Growth Fund to build a clean power supply base in the southwest," he said. "Recently, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have also moved to pursue 800 trillion won ($522 billion) in investment, firing the starting gun for the creation of an advanced-industry cluster in the region."

Lee stressed that large-company investment and the cultivation of innovative startups must go hand in hand for the southwest's rise to translate into more solid growth. He also referenced President Lee Jae-myung's recent citation of Admiral Yi Sun-sin's saying — "Without Honam, there is no nation" — and urged that "startups from the southwest nurtured at KDB NextONE Gwangju breathe new vitality into the regional economy."

KDB NextONE Gwangju is set to house 15 promising startups from the southwest region, each within seven years of founding. Korea Development Bank plans to select two cohorts annually, providing tailored, one-stop support including investment attraction through its in-house venture platform.

KDB NextONE is Korea Development Bank's startup growth support program, offering companies investor relations opportunities along with financial and non-financial services. Launched in Seoul in 2020, the program expanded to Busan in 2024 and had nurtured 212 startups through last year, 101 of which successfully raised a combined 132.1 billion won in investment.

Korea Development Bank Chairman Park Sang-jin announced at the ceremony that the bank would open additional regional hubs in Jeonju and Daegu in the second half of this year to support the government's five-hub, three-special-zone regional development policy.

Lee also visited the AI industry cluster in Gwangju's Cheomdan 3 district Tuesday to review its infrastructure and support programs. There, he said policy finance would "actively back promising AI companies so they can leap beyond the domestic market and into global markets."