Data released on Wednesday revealed that North Chungcheong Province's mining and manufacturing output surged nearly 28% year-on-year in the second quarter, propelled by a sharp increase in chip production from companies such as SK hynix.

According to Statistics Korea, the region's mining and manufacturing output grew 27.8% year-on-year during the April-to-June period, marking the fastest pace among all provinces and cities nationwide. For comparison, the country's overall mining and manufacturing output rose just 2% year-on-year in the same quarter.

In North Chungcheong Province, semiconductor and electronic component production skyrocketed 70.9% year-on-year, leading the overall expansion, largely thanks to SK hynix's production lines located in the area.

Meanwhile, Gwangju, situated in the southwest, saw its mining and manufacturing output climb 9.1% year-on-year, with the automotive sector contributing significantly to the growth at a 21.8% increase. In contrast, Seoul, Daejeon, and South Jeolla Province experienced declines of 5.7%, 5.3%, and 9.2% respectively in their mining and manufacturing output during the same period.