Kwak Nojung: "Mega-Scale Investments Are Difficult for a Single Company... Support Needed Through Deregulation"

Attends Strategy Report Meeting at Yongsan Presidential Office
Requests Deregulation to Stimulate Investment
"Investment Will Become Possible to Address AI Memory Shortage"
Calls for Solutions to Power and Water Supply Issues and Policy Improvements
Lee: "Practical Measures Being Prepared Without Undermining Separation of Industrial and Financial Capital"

Kwak Nojung, President and CEO of SK Hynix, attended the 'Strategy Report Meeting for Fostering the Semiconductor Industry in the AI Era' held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on December 10. During the meeting, he requested that the government ease regulations to promote investment, stating, "It is difficult for us alone to secure large-scale funding, so deregulation is necessary to stimulate investment."

Kwak Nojung, CEO of SK Hynix, is speaking at the report meeting on the Vision and Development Strategy of K-Semiconductors in the AI Era held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 10th, attended by President Lee Jae-myung. Photo by Yonhap News

Kwak emphasized, "It is challenging for a single company to undertake a mega-scale investment on its own." He added, "With such support, it will be possible to make investments that can address the shortage of AI memory and prepare for the future."

Kwak also said, "Some may think that SK Hynix has ample funds and can cover all investments, but it actually takes three years just to bring in and set up equipment before we can generate profits to reinvest. If we wait, we will miss the right timing."

His remarks highlight that while SK Hynix is expanding production facilities and investing in various areas, there are clear limits without government support. SK Hynix plans to make phased investments totaling 600 trillion won in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. Through this, the company aims to expand its plant size by 1.5 times compared to the original plan and introduce advanced equipment such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems to meet the continuously increasing demand for AI memory. In Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, SK Hynix has already invested 11 trillion won this year and plans to invest a total of 42 trillion won over the next four years.

In particular, Kwak requested additional regulatory and policy improvements to address the issues of power and water supply required for semiconductor plants. In response, President Lee Jae-myung acknowledged the validity of the concerns, saying, "The separation of industrial and financial capital was intended to prevent monopolistic abuses, but for advanced industries requiring large-scale investment, that issue has already passed." He added, "Since these are factors that hinder industrial development, institutional preparations are already underway. We are preparing practical measures within the scope that does not undermine the principle of separation between industrial and financial capital, and it is almost complete."

President Lee described the 600 trillion won investment as "very desirable and appreciated," but also pointed out that "it is not unrelated to the issue of overconcentration in the Seoul metropolitan area."

He then inquired about the plans for water and power supply for the Yongin industrial complex. Lee Ho-hyun, the Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, explained, "There are difficulties in gaining local residents' acceptance regarding the connection of transmission lines," and added, "For industries that require a lot of power in the future, it would be desirable from a national balanced development perspective to locate them in regions or areas with abundant electricity."

Jun Younghyun, Vice Chairman and Head of the DS Division at Samsung Electronics, commented on the government's newly announced semiconductor industry development strategy, saying, "Policies such as the National Growth Fund proposed by the government will serve as a catalyst for private investment activities and are highly meaningful." He also stated, "Domestic materials, parts, and equipment projects will greatly help establish a stable supply chain. Samsung will also actively expand collaboration and mutual growth with domestic materials, parts, and equipment partners at the Pyeongtaek campus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.