Honam Region Semiconductor Cluster to Be Built on the Gwangju Military Airport Site

The government has decided to establish the Honam region semiconductor cluster, which is being promoted with corporate investment worth about 800 trillion won, on the site of Gwangju Air Base. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoonsik announced the results of the publicprivate joint inspection meeting on the 6th and said that followup procedures would be carried out quickly. The government explained that Gwangju Air Base can secure a site of about 2.5 million pyeong, and that since it has already been leveled, the construction period can be shortened. It also added that its accessibility to downtown areas, the KTX station, roads, airports, and ports is good, and that the proportion of stateowned land is high, so the burden related to compensation and expropriation is relatively low. At the meeting that day, President Lee Jaemyung instructed that the environmental impact assessment period be shortened to prevent delays in megaprojects, and that land compensation should also proceed through both negotiated acquisition and compulsory expropriation procedures. The Presidential Office plans to hold this meeting every month going forward to check the progress of large regional projects.