South Korea's president seeks airbase relocation by 2028 for chip cluster

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday urged the Defence Ministry to relocate a military airbase in Gwangju city by mid-2028 in order to accelerate the construction of a semiconductor manufacturing hub in the area.

The remark came after his administration unveiled plans in June worth more than $576 billion involving Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix expanding their operations to build new chip fabrication facilities in the country's southwest region.

"It would be great if the Defence Ministry would be able to temporarily relocate the functions of the Gwangju military airbase to another base by mid-2028," Lee said at a meeting attended by company executives on the planned chip cluster.

The 8.3 million-square-metre (9.9 million-square-yard) site was picked last month due to its transport connections and since the land had already been levelled, the Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a presidential official.

-Reporting by Heejin KimEditing by Ed Davies/Reuters