[Exclusive] "450 Trillion Investment" Lee Jae-yong Says "I Am Investing with My Life on the Line"

At the Presidential Office Visit for Attending the Small and Medium Business Conference, Emphasized the Weight of Investment Amid Intensifying Semiconductor Hegemony Competition... Praised Contribution to Comprehensive Strategic Alliance, Also Considering Win-Win for SMEs

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] "We are investing with our lives on the line."

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong recently expressed this sentiment regarding Samsung's large-scale investment plans at a cooperation event with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Samsung recently announced an investment plan worth 450 trillion won over the next five years, including hiring 80,000 new employees and investing in fabless and foundry sectors, which is interpreted as the basis for his remarks.

On the 25th, before the SME conference began, Lee met with an Asia Economy reporter in front of the lawn plaza at the Yongsan Presidential Office building. When asked about the meaning of the 450 trillion won investment and U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek campus, he responded with a hearty laugh and said this.

The phrase "investment with lives on the line" appears to refer to the recent series of developments surrounding semiconductors. As semiconductors have become a key strategic asset for South Korea, the United States, and other free world countries, interest in Samsung Electronics has increased.

In particular, President Biden visited Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor production facility in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, immediately upon his visit to South Korea following the Korea-U.S. summit. Samsung’s investment success or failure is thus linked to the hegemony of the free world centered on the United States.

Lee also said, "I don’t really know the exact amount," and emphasized, "We are just moving forward." This indirectly reveals that as the competition for hegemony intensifies, being stingy or hesitant about investment makes survival difficult.

Samsung announced its large-scale investment plan just three days after President Yoon Suk-yeol and President Biden issued a joint statement at the Korea-U.S. summit, which included strengthening supply chain cooperation in semiconductors, batteries, and communications. This is also seen as contributing to the comprehensive strategic alliance between Korea and the U.S.

Lee’s remarks at the meeting with SME representatives are also meaningful. It can be interpreted as a commitment to increase employment and strengthen cooperation with SMEs as Samsung invests in new industries.

Samsung plans not only to hire new employees over the next five years but also to create 1.01 million jobs induced by investment and 60,000 win-win jobs. By focusing investment on future growth engines, Samsung aims to generate job creation effects and establish a virtuous cycle in the industrial ecosystem through cooperation between large corporations and SMEs.

Samsung’s investment is evaluated as reflecting President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state philosophy of "the private sector leads, and the government supports." It aligns with the government’s economic policy direction to promote win-win cooperation between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises.

On the previous day, President Yoon unusually invited the heads of the five major companies, including Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG, and Lotte, to the SME conference and said, "I hope this will be a meaningful time to open the path of win-win cooperation between large corporations and SMEs."