The rapid evolution of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry—shifting from simple search tools into highly autonomous "agentic AI"—is reshaping global semiconductor demand. Global Big Tech firms are increasingly ordering ultra-high-performance AI chips in the form of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) tailored to their specific business models to boost reasoning capabilities. This includes custom base dies for High-Bandwidth Memory 4 (HBM4) mounted on Nvidia's next-generation accelerators, a trend expected to accelerate with HBM4E and HBM5. Because custom ASICs require advanced back-end assembly to combine multiple chips (such as DRAM) into a single, cohesive unit, Samsung Electronics is actively reviewing plans to construct a new advanced semiconductor packaging plant in Gwangju. This project would mark a historic milestone for Samsung: its first new packaging base in 35 years since the Onyang campus, and its first factory groundbreaking of any kind in 11 years since the Pyeongtaek campus. The move is heavily driven by the fact that the traditional semiconductor ecosystem centered around the Seoul metropolitan area (southern Gyeonggi Province) has hit its physical limits. Industrial land prices are soaring, and the local capacity to supply the massive amounts of power and water required for high-tech manufacturing has virtually run out. Currently, domestic production for both Samsung and SK hynix remains tightly congested within a 50-kilometer radius centered on Pyeongtaek. Industry experts note that shifting manufacturing hubs away from major cities mirrors successful international models, such as TSMC’s expansion across Taiwan and Japan's development of chip clusters in Kumamoto and Sendai. This decentralization aligns perfectly with the Lee Jae-myung administration's aggressive policy pivot toward balanced regional growth, which the President has labeled "a strategy for national survival" rather than political charity. To incentivize conglomerates to invest outside the capital, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has launched the "5 Poles and 3 Special Zones" framework, promising robust tax benefits, regulatory easing, and localized workforce development. Crucially, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment plans to introduce a region-differentiated electricity rate system in the second half of the year. Under this scheme, power rates will become progressively cheaper the farther a facility is located from the capital, significantly easing the operational cost burden for energy-intensive semiconductor fabs. Major conglomerates are already responding to these regional incentives; Hyundai Motor Group recently announced a 9 trillion won investment in North Jeolla Province for hydrogen, robotics, and AI. Local political leaders are also moving fast to secure these investments. Min Hyung-bae, Mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, confirmed that the region boasts excellent infrastructure and teased that "good news related to semiconductor plants" is imminent. Lawmakers at the National Assembly level have also pledged to strategically align regional industrial talent, energy grids, and water resources to ensure Gwangju successfully transitions into a major semiconductor production hub. (ICE SEOUL)

Fonte notizia: Seoul Economic Daily