○ Gyeonggi Province, Samsung Electronics, Pyeongtaek-City and the Gyeonggi Urban Innovation Corporation hold signing ceremony on October 6 for an agreement on investment and support for the earliest possible operation of new Samsung facility
○ Samsung agrees to start work on construction of a factory in Godeok, Pyeongtaek in 1st half of 2015, for operation in 2nd half of 2017
○ Agrees to move the investment more than one year ahead of original schedule

It is expected that the plan for the construction of the world’s largest next-generation semiconductor line in the Pyeongtaek Godeok Industrial Complex, Gyeonggi-do will be carried out more than one year earlier than scheduled.

The signing ceremony for an agreement on investment and support for the earlier operation of a Samsung Electronics’ facility in the Pyeongtaek Godeok Industrial Complex was held at the site office in the industrial complex at 10:00 AM on October 6, with Governor of Gyeonggi Nam Kyung-pil, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Kwon Oh-hyun, Mayor of Pyeongtaek Kong Jae-kwang, and CEO of Gyeonggi Urban Innovation Corporation (GUIC) Choi Geum-shik in attendance.

Samsung Electronics explained that it had planned to start operating the new semiconductor production line by the end of 2018, but decided to move the investment forward by about one year in order to cope with growing demand in the market and to cooperate with the Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongtaek-City, in accordance with their request for earlier investment. 

The new agreement for Samsung Electronics’ earlier investment and Gyeonggi Province’s full support was signed some 26 months after signing the contract for the allocation of land for the site in July 2012. Samsung Electronics will start the work in the first half of 2015 and begin operating the line in the second half of 2017.

Samsung Electronics plans to invest 15.6 trillion won by 2017 under Phase-1 and make a decision on further investment in consideration of the prevailing situation.

The site allocated to Samsung Electronics in the Pyeongtaek Godeok Industrial Complex covers 2.83 million m2, of which a parcel of 790,000 m2 will be used to house infrastructure facilities and a high-end semiconductor production line.

In his speech at the agreement ceremony, Governor Nam Kyung-pil said, “We, together with local people in the province, welcome Samsung’s decision on earlier investment. The Do Office will spare no effort to provide all the necessary administrative support, including the launch of a task force team, for the provision of infrastructure facilities in line with Samsung’s earlier investment decision.” It is reported that Governor Nam Kyung-pil requested Vice Chairmen Lee Jae-yong and Kwon Oh-Hyun of Samsung Electronics to agree to the earlier investment, which is needed to breathe new life into the economy, last August.

On his turn, Mayor of Pyeongtaek Kong Jae-kwang said, “We at Pyeongtaek-City will do all that we can to make the city a new economic city, a city that businesses view as the best place for their operations. We will also strive to create jobs and invigorate the local economy by maximizing the synergistic effects of Samsung’s investment in linkage with existing businesses in the city.”

Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Kwon Oh-hyun said, “The new semiconductor factory in the Pyeongtaek Godeok Industrial Complex is expected to play a core role in the future of Samsung Electronics. We are deeply grateful for the central government, Gyeonggi Province, and Pyeongtaek-City for their full support for our decision on earlier investment.”

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy is also making preparations to secure the power supply in order to ensure uninterrupted commencement of the semiconductor production line of Samsung Electronics’ new factory in Pyeongtaek.