Candidates promise riches from chips and AI to sway regional voters, but few can actually deliver
Published: 26 May. 2026, 07:00
![Workers preparing campaign vehicles in Geumsan County, South Chungcheong, on May 15. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/26/9cc316a2-637f-4ede-b657-97bae86ec248.jpg)
Workers preparing campaign vehicles in Geumsan County, South Chungcheong, on May 15. [NEWS1]
As the prolonged semiconductor supercycle promises lucrative gains along with the ongoing AI race, politicians are increasingly turning to chips and AI as potential game changers capable of reviving struggling local economies — and winning votes.
The issue is, however, that these promises are coming from almost every candidate across every region. Out of 54 local election candidates from 16 administrative governments, 44 candidates have made pledges related to chips or AI, with 13 vowing to draw in a combined total of 439 trillion won ($290 billion) in investments from related firms. In total, out of 54 candidates, 24 have promised to attract some aspect of the semiconductor industry to their region.
Chips are the newest holy grail, causing candidates to ambitiously promise to move parts of the under-construction Yongin Semiconductor Cluster to their respective regions. This issue has previously sparked controversy after several proposals surfaced last December and President Lee Jae Myung had to personally calm concerns in Yongin, stating that “reversing the project at that stage would not be easy.”
But that hasn't stopped candidates from making plans.
“I will bring in 10 trillion won worth of semiconductor facilities within one year of taking office,” said Min Hyung-bae, the Democratic Party's (DP) candidate for the inaugural mayor of the proposed converged city of South Jeolla and Gwangju.
The proposal calls for creating a semiconductor cluster capable of research and development, manufacturing and packaging by 2030 using a combination of state funding, municipal budgets and private investment.
Lee Won-taek, the DP candidate for governor of North Jeolla, pledged to attract 3 trillion won worth of semiconductor testing and packaging plants.
![An Amazon data center in Ashburn, Virginia [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/26/fc1fa006-0deb-43d7-9980-58eb0aa0cb1e.jpg)
An Amazon data center in Ashburn, Virginia [REUTERS/YONHAP]
The opposition People Power Party (PPP) is no exception.
Choo Kyung-ho, the PPP candidate for mayor of Daegu, pledged to establish a second national semiconductor industrial complex in the city by 2034 through attracting factories operated by semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Choo's campaign pledges to use state funding and private investments for the project.
Lee Jang-woo, the PPP candidate for mayor of Daejeon Metropolitan City, pledged to invest 3.46 trillion won to develop a 5.3-million-square-meter (530-hectare) nano-semiconductor industrial complex in Yuseong District, Daejeon by 2030.
Candidates running for governor of Gyeonggi instead are focusing on retaining the semiconductor investment within the Gyeonggi area.
Choo Mi-ae, the DP candidate for the governor of Gyeonggi, emphasized the need to strengthen a “semiconductor belt” stretching from Suwon to Icheon, arguing that “discussions about dispersing the industry are inappropriate.”
![This file photo taken on Jan. 2, shows the construction site of the Yongin semiconductor cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/26/20aa83ec-aa49-405c-84a2-1cc9cdc14698.jpg)
This file photo taken on Jan. 2, shows the construction site of the Yongin semiconductor cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]
Yang Hyang-ja, the PPP candidate for governor of Gyeonggi, pledged to foster the semiconductor industry to raise regional GDP per capita to 100 million won from the current level of around 47 million won.
Promises to build AI industrial clusters have also surged as candidates argue that AI-related industries could generate significant spillover effects for struggling regional economies.
Chun Jae-soo, the DP candidate for mayor of Busan, pledged to invest 10 trillion won over five years to build an AI data center cluster. In response, incumbent PPP candidate Park Heong-joon proposed creating a “Busan-style AI” ecosystem integrating AI technologies into the city’s port, shipping and shipbuilding industries to create 50,000 jobs.
Kim Doo-gyeom, the PPP candidate for mayor of Ulsan, pledged to transform the city into Korea’s “AI capital” through 100 trillion won in investment, including attracting AI data centers from SK Group and Amazon Web Services. The pledge follows the attraction of AI data center investments worth around 7 trillion won last year.
![SK hynix headquarters on April 23. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/26/2b7b99ea-05e4-457a-95ba-f6556ac61f32.jpg)
SK hynix headquarters on April 23. [YONHAP]
Despite the flood of large-scale promises, detailed action plans and funding strategies remain largely absent.
“What we are proposing is to create conditions within the region that would allow semiconductor factories or AI data centers to be built, but actual investment decisions are up to companies, so we cannot guarantee them,” a campaign official from an opposition party stated.
A ruling party official also admitted that “Projects requiring budgets worth tens or even hundreds of trillions of won cannot realistically be financed through government spending alone.”
Questions over feasibility have already triggered clashes between candidates.
Woo Sang-ho, the DP candidate for governor of Gangwon, pledged to “attract 70 trillion won in investment over 10 years to build AI data centers” on May 15, sparking criticism over whether the promise was realistic. Kim Jin-tae, a PPP candidate for the governor of Gangwon, then lashed out at Woo for shrinking that number from 70 to 20 trillion won on Sunday.
![Memory chips by semiconductor supplier SK hynix are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration created on Feb. 25, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/26/1604341f-4191-4867-a51a-a01102742ef4.jpg)
Memory chips by semiconductor supplier SK hynix are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration created on Feb. 25, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
“It is a baseless campaign pledge that cannot even identify the company supposedly making the investment,” Kim said.
Woo's campaign official claimed that Woo had “personally secured an investment commitment from one of Korea’s five largest conglomerates,” but could not unveil the name because it is “too early.”
Woo's pledge isn't the only one under scrutiny. Experts also questioned the credibility of many campaign pledges.
“Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have already established the Yongin industrial complex, so the possibility of major new investments elsewhere is effectively zero,” Kim Yong-seok, professor at Gachon University’s College of Semiconductor, said. “These are campaign pledges aimed at misleading voters.”
![Mail-in voting papers for the upcoming June 3 elections are seen at the National Election Commission office in Guro District, western Seoul, on May 23. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/26/51ea69c3-52f7-4536-9d6b-8a3104567c22.jpg)
Mail-in voting papers for the upcoming June 3 elections are seen at the National Election Commission office in Guro District, western Seoul, on May 23. [NEWS1]
“AI industries require substantial corporate investment and extensive policy reviews,” Cho Dong-geun, emeritus professor of economics at Myongji University, stated. “Promising to attract such projects within a single term without sufficient preparation is unrealistic.”
“If candidates continue to flood voters with unrealistic campaign pledges, it could further deepen political distrust and voter disillusionment,” Lee Jae-mook, professor of political science at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said. “Candidates from both major parties are indiscriminately rolling out semiconductor and AI pledges, turning politics into a spectacle.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM GYU-TAE, LEE CHAN-KYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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