Chey Tae-won, Chairman of South Korea's SK Group, stated on Friday that the conglomerate will strive to build a new semiconductor industrial cluster in the southwestern region of the country as quickly as possible to satisfy growing global demand.

Chey made these remarks while inspecting the Gwangju Air Force Base located in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region of southwestern South Korea, where SK Hynix has proposed constructing a new chip industrial cluster.

"Once conditions are in place, we plan to build (the new industrial cluster) as soon as possible," Chey said. "Chip demand is growing rapidly, and the current situation requires us to accelerate supply to keep pace with demand," he added.

Chey noted that the timing for breaking ground has yet to be determined, but emphasized that the group intends to start construction as soon as possible.

Chey pointed out that chip demand is expected to surge significantly; he also added that the proposed industrial cluster will be roughly two-thirds the size of the one currently under construction in Yongin, south of Seoul.

This marks Chey's first visit to the region since SK Group announced its construction plans in June.

Earlier this year, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics unveiled long-term investment projects in the region, including plans to each build two new memory chip fabrication plants.

The Gwangju Air Force Base was selected as the project site in July, and the South Korean government aims to begin large-scale production by 2030.