Six of 10 Chungcheong mega-projects to break ground this year as W23.6tr in additional investment identified

Six of the 10 mega-projects in the Chungcheong region — backed by eight anchor companies including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — will break ground this year.

The government plans to invest a total of 1.9 trillion won ($1.42 billion) in the Chungcheong region through 2030 to build 14 pieces of advanced industrial infrastructure supporting the demonstration of cutting-edge products and technologies.

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the "Chungcheong Mega-Project Comprehensive Support Plan" at a project review meeting held Thursday at Samsung Electronics' Onyang Campus.

The ministry outlined three pillars: accelerating investment by the eight anchor companies, spreading investment to materials, parts and equipment firms while building a cooperative ecosystem, and securing talent for advanced industries alongside upgrading industrial complexes.

The government said it will support the groundbreaking of six of the 10 projects led by the eight anchor companies — including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — this year, with two more set to begin construction next year and the remaining two between 2028 and 2029.

The plan calls for expanding early groundbreaking cases made possible by streamlined permitting, while supporting the swift completion of projects already under construction.

Regulatory hurdles affecting investment timelines — including power grid impact assessments, industrial complex plan revisions and safety impact evaluations — will also be resolved promptly.

The ministry said it will work with related ministries to secure a stable power supply and push ahead with the construction of new water treatment facilities to ensure uninterrupted provision of electricity and water.

To channel anchor-company investment toward materials, parts and equipment firms, the government will extend to those suppliers the same level of investment support currently available to anchor companies.

Benefits will include fast-track permitting, subsidies, tax credits, policy financing and special zone expansion. The government will also develop four advanced national industrial complexes and support four materials-parts-equipment clusters and three advanced industry specialized complexes to promote co-location of suppliers and anchor companies.

A total of 48.7 billion won will be provided through 2028 for 17 joint research and development projects between materials, parts and equipment firms and anchor companies. The ministry also set a target of training 10,000 advanced industry workers annually in the Chungcheong region.

Specialized colleges and graduate programs will be established at Chungnam National University under a growth-engine brand initiative, and practical workers will be trained through industry-specific academies, boot camps and technical high schools.

A total of 1.5 trillion won will be invested through 2030 to upgrade existing industrial complexes into youth-friendly, advanced industry and AI transformation hubs, while promoting the development of youth-friendly complexes and corporate AI adoption.

Earlier Thursday, at a groundbreaking ceremony at the Onyang Campus construction site for an HBM packaging fab, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung Display simultaneously broke ground on their respective projects.

The ministry said that through a public-private task force on advancing strategic industries in the Chungcheong region, permitting timelines had been significantly shortened, allowing the Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung Display projects to begin construction ahead of their original schedules.

The ministry added that since the mega-project announcement, an additional 23.6 trillion won in investment plans from 112 materials, parts and equipment companies linked to the anchor firms had been identified.