[2026-07-01] South Korea’s $580B Southwest Megaproject: Samsung Semiconductor + Offshore Wind Transform the Region
South Korea launched an 800 trillion KRW (~$580B) Southwest megaproject: Samsung Electronics commits 400 trillion KRW to Gwangju semiconductor fabs — Korea’s next cluster after Pyeongtaek/Yongin — plus 17 trillion KRW for a 210MW AI data center.
The government’s 20-year offshore wind market is projected at 306 trillion KRW, targeting 10.5GW by 2030 and 25GW by 2035, from just 0.36GW operational today (1% of 34GW permitted).
The Yeongwang Nakwol offshore wind farm (365MW, 64 turbines) is at 85% completion; the Mokpo New Port is being developed as the nation’s primary offshore wind staging hub.
This policy directly affects global semiconductor supply chains, offshore wind investors, and energy-industrial strategy — with UK Hornsea Three and Danish community models as key overseas comparisons.