Lee pledges to establish 'aerospace industry belt' along southern coast

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday pledged to create an "aerospace industry belt" along the country's southern coast, calling it one of the new growth engines that Korea will seek to nurture in an effort to compete in future global markets. Lee made the pledge while announcing investment plans for the country's southern region at an event in South Gyeongsang Province, as part of the government's broader "three mega projects" initiative, which calls for large-scale investments in semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI) and AI data centers. Lee said large-scale investment will be made to foster the region's next-generation semiconductors, AI data center and physical AI industries, transforming its industrial manufacturing bases into intelligent industries. In particular, the government plans to "establish a southern coast aerospace industry belt that will encompass satellites, rockets, next-generation aircraft and the new space industry," Lee said, calling them new growth engines to be driven by the region.