South Korea’s plan to build a major semiconductor cluster in the southwest to support chip manufacturing by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix is drawing growing concern over whether the government can secure sufficient electricity in time. Under President Lee Jae Myung’s administration, officials say the power strategy is shifting away from an initial policy of maintaining the nuclear status quo. The government argues that renewables alone cannot supply the project’s required demand, and it is weighing additional nuclear generation to meet it.
However, expanding nuclear capacity is described as a process with timelines and obstacles comparable to those for constructing semiconductor fabs. New reactors must undergo environmental assessments and address local opposition, including concerns from residents near transmission lines and other related facilities. That raises uncertainty about whether additional power could come online before the current memory chip upcycle ends or before the current presidential term concludes.
According to government officials cited by the outlets, the administration is considering building four additional nuclear reactors as part of the broader effort to ensure power availability for the semiconductor cluster. Further details of the schedule and permitting progress were not provided in the excerpts.
