South Chungcheong Province holds urban planning committee meeting, accelerating Samsung Electronics factory expansion by more than a month
South Korea's three flagship "mega projects" for national advancement will break ground in South Chungcheong Province next month — more than a month ahead of schedule.
The provincial government convened the eighth session of the 2026 South Chungcheong Province Urban Planning Committee on Wednesday at the provincial office's main conference hall, chaired by Vice Governor Hong Jong-wan. The committee reviewed and approved a proposal to expand Samsung Electronics' Onyang Campus in Baekhang-eup, Asan — a development activity exceeding the standard permitted scale.
The expansion plan calls for investing 6 trillion won ($4.34 billion) to build a new factory on a 389,825-square-meter site within the Onyang Campus, scaling up production of high-performance AI semiconductors, including HBM.
The province worked closely with Asan and Samsung Electronics to coordinate consultations with relevant agencies and conduct advance document reviews, pushing the urban planning committee's deliberation on Asan's oversized development permit application more than a month ahead of the original schedule.
The accelerated approval marks the first tangible result of the South Chungcheong Advanced Strategic Industry Leap Task Force, which began operation last month.
Following the committee's approval, Samsung Electronics will formally begin construction of the new semiconductor factory next month — the first groundbreaking among all projects included in the three mega initiatives.
"This urban planning committee review is the first case of rapid administrative support, led by the task force, to ensure that corporate investment plans are carried out on time," Vice Governor Hong said. "Going forward, we will concentrate our administrative resources on swiftly resolving obstacles to corporate investment so that South Chungcheong Province can emerge as the hub of South Korea's advanced strategic industries."
Meanwhile, following the announcement of the three mega projects in June, a national briefing on the vision for advanced industry development in the Chungcheong region was held July 2 at Samsung Display's Asan Second Campus. The event was attended by Governor Park Soo-hyun, President Lee Jae Myung and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, among others. At the briefing, South Chungcheong Province signed investment agreements with Samsung Display, SK hynix and other companies.
Under the agreements, Samsung Group, SK hynix and other partners committed to invest 392 trillion won in key future advanced industries in the Chungcheong region, including semiconductors, displays, secondary batteries and biotech.
Of that total, 202 trillion won is earmarked for investment within South Chungcheong Province. To ensure the investments are realized without delay, the province established the task force, announced a comprehensive investment support plan for South Chungcheong's advanced industries, and has been running a high-speed administrative support system.
The province is pursuing 30 tasks across five areas, targeting the development of future industrial hubs linked to large-scale investment, rapid administrative support for timely execution of investment plans, and the proactive creation of favorable investment conditions based on innovation in three areas: power, water and human resources.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
