[Global Times correspondent in South Korea, Li Zhiyin] “Could this be a sign of economic recovery?” With the inauguration of South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung, LG has taken the lead in revitalizing its manufacturing sector. Major conglomerates such as SK, Hyundai, Samsung, and Kakao have also announced or are planning investment plans worth trillions of Korean won, actively responding to the government’s policy direction of reviving “advanced strategic industries.” Korean media outlets including Yonhap News Agency, “Korean Economic,” and JongAng Daily have recently reported that these investment plans might signal the reshaping of South Korea’s manufacturing industry at the core of global industrial supply chains. Meanwhile, there is heated debate within South Korea on whether these large-scale investments by Korean companies can seize the market advantage in key industries, helping the country overcome development crises.
On June 13th, Lee Jae-myung convened discussions with the chairmen of the five major groups and leaders of six economic organizations, discussing the nation’s future growth strategy. Representatives from the participating companies stated they would increase local investment in core technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and new energy.
Just three days later, LG Display announced an additional investment of 1.26 trillion Korean won (approximately 6.6 billion RMB) in its OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) production base in Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province, which will include about 700 billion won for the construction of new OLED technology production facilities. This investment is seen as a “rebound investment” following LG’s sale of its LCD display factory in Guangzhou, China.
Industry insiders point out that against the backdrop of Chinese companies accelerating their catch-up, LG’s move not only helps to solidify its technological advantages but also drives coordinated development among domestic materials, components, and equipment companies, strengthening the Korean display industry ecosystem.
This investment is not only a reflection of corporate strategy adjustments but also seen as an important “signal” by the Lee Jae-myung administration in promoting the return of high-value-added manufacturing.
Lee Jae-myung has pledged to invest 100 trillion Korean won in cutting-edge strategic industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) to become one of the top three AI nations. In the field of AI, SK Group has taken a significant step towards domestic high-tech investments. SK plans to collaborate with global cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services to build an AI-dedicated data center in Yeouido Wonpo National Industrial Park with a capacity of 100 megawatts (MW), which will be equipped with 60,000 GPUs. The project is expected to be completed by 2029. With a total scale of 103MW, it will become the largest AI infrastructure in South Korea’s history. This project, jointly funded by SK Group and the government, is considered a representative project in South Korea’s “government-private partnership” strategy for AI infrastructure.
When Hyundai Motor Group announced its investment plan in the United States in March this year, it also unveiled a local investment scheme worth 24.3 trillion Korean won, covering R&D, operations, and strategic projects, with an annual growth rate of 19%, setting a new record for the group’s history. When will it be implemented? This has been widely anticipated.
Although Samsung Electronics has not officially disclosed specific plans, Chairman Lee Jae-myung promised during a meeting with the five major conglomerates that Samsung will continue to expand its investments in AI, semiconductors, and biomedicine, promote the integration of traditional industries with AI, enhance production efficiency, and create high-quality jobs. Last year, Samsung set new records for annual equipment investment and R&D investment, and this year may continue this trend with new local investment projects.
Kim Dae-chong, a professor at the School of Business at Sungkyunkwan University, pointed out that stimulating regional investment centered on cutting-edge manufacturing could have positive effects in creating employment and strengthening the domestic demand foundation.
He also stressed that the process would directly depend on the government’s subsequent policy implementation in areas such as tax support and infrastructure. Continuous communication between the private sector and the government would become a key factor.
The interviewee believes that, currently, most local investments by enterprises are still concentrated on “incremental expansion” within existing core parks, rather than on new projects. Under the policy vision of “building a strategic industrial ecosystem” proposed by Li Zaiming’s government, whether enterprises will continue to respond substantively and whether the scale of investment will be expanded remains to be further observed.