Gov’t to promote water pipeline system with Samsung, SK hynix

Vice Minister for Economy and Finance Kim Beom-seok presided over the ‘Investment Express Meeting’ on the 15th. (Ministry of Economy and Finance) (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

The South Korean government is collaborating with Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. to promote the construction of an integrated water pipeline system that will be jointly used by the two Korean chipmakers.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Wednesday that its First Vice Minister Kim Beom-seok visited a candidate site for the Yongin National Industrial Complex and the construction site of the Yongin General Semiconductor Industrial Complex in Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday, along with officials from various government ministries, public institutions, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix. They held a meeting to discuss ways to accelerate the creation of a semiconductor cluster during the visit.

One of the key topics discussed at the meeting was the construction of an integrated water pipeline for the National Industrial Complex and the General Industrial Complex in Yongin, a project initiated through consultations between the Ministry of Environment, Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water), Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix.

The initial plan was for the National Industrial Complex and the General Industrial Complex to have separate single pipelines. Concerns arose, however, over potential water supply disruptions for the National Industrial Complex in the event of a disaster, and construction delays for the General Industrial Complex if the companies handled compensation procedures separately.

In response, the government and K-water, after consulting with the two companies, decided that K-water would construct a dual-track integrated pipeline that both companies could jointly use. The approach is expected to reduce costs and ensure both stability and timeliness compared to building two separate pipelines, creating a “win-win” situation for both companies.

To expedite the construction of the integrated water pipeline, the government revised regulations on September 3rd, 2024, to allow K-water to participate as the operator of the project. The Cabinet also approved the exemption of the project from the preliminary feasibility study on September 30th.

During the meeting, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix officials expressed their gratitude for the government‘s support for semiconductor-related corporate investments, including for infrastructure construction, and requested continued attention from relevant agencies on key infrastructure such as power supply.

Kim noted that it is important to quickly establish the planned semiconductor cluster, which is still in its early stages, and urged relevant agencies to work to expedite related procedures and focus on infrastructure development so that the cluster can serve as a hub for the Korean semiconductor industry.

This meeting marked the first “Expanded Investment Express” meeting held at the vice-ministerial level. The minister noted that he chose the site of the semiconductor mega cluster in the southern Gyeonggi Province as the first stop on his visit as the “global competition for semiconductor dominance is fiercer than ever.“