Plans for the Honam semiconductor cluster are widening, with the Gwangju military airport project now being reviewed for as many as nine semiconductor fabs instead of the original four. Min Hyung-bae has also said SK Group is preparing about ₩100 trillion, or roughly $70.7 billion, of investment in eastern South Jeolla within SK's broader Honam semiconductor and AI data center push. Gwangju said the government is reviewing a larger Jeonnam-Gwangju National Semiconductor Industrial Complex based on corporate demand, and Min said discussions with Korea Electric Power Corp. point to a possible five fabs for Samsung Electronics and four for SK Hynix rather than two each. A power-supply agreement signed on Aug. 12 by Gwangju, the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, Korea Electric Power, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, along with an uneven electricity-cost sharing structure, added to expectations that extra plants are under consideration. The 8.26 million-square-meter site can hold more than four fabs, with construction expected to begin in 2028, first-phase completion in 2029 and mass production from 2030, while power availability remains a central execution issue for semiconductor plants and AI data centers.