SEOUL — Breaking away from its traditional focus on the capital region, Samsung has announced a record-breaking investment plan distributed across various provinces to secure its dominance in the upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) era.

At a national mega-project reporting conference held at the Blue House, Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong emphasized that the time has come to decentralize manufacturing into new economic zones. The conglomerate is backing this strategy with a massive spending package of 2,655 trillion won (approximately $1.72 trillion).

While the lion’s share of the budget—2,030 trillion won ($1.31 trillion)—will continue to flow into the core semiconductor clusters in Pyeongtaek and Yongin within the capital region, a historic 625 trillion won ($405 billion) has been earmarked for three key regional hubs: Honam, Chungcheong, and Yeongnam.

Management expects this simultaneous overhaul of data infrastructure and manufacturing facilities to give Samsung an overwhelming competitive edge amid rapid global technological shifts.

The southwestern Honam region will receive the largest non-capital investment at 425 trillion won, with a staggering 400 trillion won dedicated solely to semiconductors. Samsung Electronics is reportedly eyeing Gwangju as the site for a new chip plant paired with a digital twin technology innovation center.

Chairman Lee praised Gwangju for its strong potential in securing reliable power grids, clean water, and highly skilled talent. Once completed, the city will partner with the capital region as the twin engines driving domestic semiconductor growth.

In the same region, Samsung will expand its smart home appliance and cooling system assembly lines to support AI data centers. To reduce reliance on foreign tech giants, Samsung SDS plans to build a Sovereign AI data center in Haenam. Meanwhile, Samsung C&T will roll out solar power and green hydrogen projects, alongside a massive logistics hub in Gochang.

Moving to the central Chungcheong region, Samsung will inject 140 trillion won. The spotlight here is on High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) production lines located in Cheonan and Onyang.

Company leadership highlighted that HBM chips—crucial for AI models—require highly complex stacking techniques and stringent processes on par with core chip fabrication. In the same region, Samsung Display will establish next-generation foldable and ultra-high-resolution micro-display production lines for extended reality (XR) devices in Asan.

Additionally, Samsung SDI will set up a pilot plant in Cheonan to test and transfer future battery technologies, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics will establish AI server motherboard production in Sejong.

For the southeastern Yeongnam region, a 60 trillion won package will drive digital transformation and robotic automation in manufacturing. The company will build a model factory for its global smartphone division and a biomimetic robot production line in Gumi, while Samsung SDS handles the construction of an AI data center.

In Busan, operations for Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCC) and AI packaging boards will be significantly expanded. Samsung SDI will also boost funding for solid-state batteries and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Ulsan, as Samsung Heavy Industries finalizes a high-value shipbuilding complex in Geoje. Furthermore, the conglomerate remains committed to its biopharmaceutical ventures in Songdo (Incheon), aiming to build the world's largest pharmaceutical complex.

Mirroring this corporate investment wave, the South Korean government announced comprehensive support strategies covering power, water, and land infrastructure for these mega-projects.

President Lee Jae-myung declared he will personally oversee the streamlining of administrative procedures. Regulators will ensure fast-tracked infrastructure for these key economic zones under the Special Semiconductor Act, paving the way for corporate capital to be deployed on schedule.