South Korea Semiconductor Panel Includes Dessert Cafe CEO

By Sophie Lindqvist

South Korea’s government has proposed 6 trillion won ($4.46 billion) in public funding for a government-led semiconductor cluster megaproject at the site of Gwangju military airport. The plan calls for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to invest 800 trillion won in four semiconductor fabrication plants.

Government plans to spend 1.5 trillion won each year from 2027 through 2030. Four annual installments total the proposed 6 trillion won. That schedule spreads the public commitment across four budget years, but the documents do not divide it among infrastructure, fab construction and operating costs.

The released documents present the private-investment figure as a call, not a disclosed commitment from either chipmaker. They also provide no signed construction schedule.

Who reviews the 6 trillion won?

The Prime Minister’s office created a support committee with 19 government officials and 16 private members. Three private members, designated as industry representatives, will help review the project’s budget.

• Kim So-woo, CEO of dessert cafe Slyfox, runs a Japanese-style fruit sandwich shop.
• Lee Keun-bae, president of Chonnam National University, is an orthopedic specialist.
• Han Kyung-gu, head of the Balanced Growth Policy Development Institute, previously served as a senior vice chair of the Democratic Party’s national spatial innovation committee during the 2025 presidential election.

Documents released Wednesday show that none of the three private industry representatives brings direct semiconductor expertise to the review. Their backgrounds span food service, medicine, higher education and regional policy rather than chip manufacturing.

The Prime Minister’s office said in August that the private members were selected for expertise and field experience in their respective areas. That rationale treats their seats as a broader policy interface, not as evidence of semiconductor expertise.

What does the proposal not establish?

The proposal names no process node, wafer size, output capacity, shipment target or product family. It gives no allocation of the 800 trillion won between Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The documents therefore do not establish commercial scale, technology choice or supplier demand for the four fabs.

Construction timing is also absent beyond the public-spending window of 2027 through 2030. That window describes annual government outlays, not a fab completion timetable.

Why does panel expertise matter?

During its Oct. 30 review of the 2027 budget proposal, the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts said: “There is not a single semiconductor expert among the three private-sector members representing industry.” The National Assembly Budget Office separately urged the government to strengthen the committee’s expertise.

The government disputed that criticism. A Prime Minister’s office source said the appointees cover urban development, baking and work-force training, as well as balanced growth. The Industry Ministry said the full committee includes government members responsible for semiconductors and experts in electricity and energy policy.

Another government source said the law does not require semiconductor experts on the panel. The source said the prime minister also weighed diversity, including women and young people, when choosing private members from candidates recommended through various channels.

Can the private membership change?

The Prime Minister’s office has not ruled out changing private-sector membership if the National Assembly requests it.

Rep. Ku Ja-keun of the People Power Party framed the concern: “It is questionable whether private-sector industry members with no semiconductor expertise can properly review the management of 6 trillion won in support funding, infrastructure plans for the project and its operation,” Rep. Ku said.

No replacement has been named in the released material. Changing private seats would not resolve the proposal’s disclosure gaps. New industry expertise would still need to assess four fabs whose capacity, technology and product mix remain unspecified.

The full committee retains government members with semiconductor responsibilities and outside energy specialists. Still, the three private representatives have a formal role in budget review, putting the credibility of that review at the center of the dispute.

If the National Assembly requests changes, private-sector membership may shift before the first planned 1.5 trillion won outlay in 2027. The proposal still provides no basis to judge the four fabs’ capacity, pricing or competitive effect.