People Power Party Lawmakers Demand Land Disclosure Over Honam Semiconductor - 조선일보

South Korean People Power Party lawmakers Ahn Cheol-soo and Song Eon-seog have raised concerns over the government-led Honam semiconductor project, accusing it of potentially enabling land speculation... Read original →

The Honam semiconductor initiative, if driven by opaque political criteria rather than technical merit, risks distorting South Korea’s advanced packaging and materials supply chain geography. While Samsung and SK Hynix may benefit from short-term policy support, unchecked land speculation could inflate industrial real estate costs by over 15%, diverting capital from critical equipment and talent. More critically, perceived favoritism erodes global investor confidence in Korea’s semiconductor subsidies, prompting TSMC and Intel to accelerate fab investments in the U.S., EU, and Japan to hedge against regulatory unpredictability. Over the next 12–24 months, this politicization could trigger a credibility crisis in Korea’s industrial policy, forcing independent technical audits of site selection. Globally, capital will increasingly flow to jurisdictions with transparent land governance—putting Korea at a strategic disadvantage in the race for next-generation fabs unless corrective measures are swiftly implemented.