Korea unveils 7.9 trillion won plan to speed stalled corporate projects

South Korea's finance ministry said it will deploy a second package of measures to unblock 7.9 trillion won ($5.82 billion) in corporate investment projects stalled by permitting and regulatory delays, cutting approval times for an Ulsan electric-vehicle plant conversion and opening a clean hydrogen power auction this month.

The plan targets projects in green industry, batteries and advanced sensors. The first package was released on Aug. 13.

The most prominent item is a conversion of an existing internal combustion engine production line in Ulsan into a plant for self-driving electric vehicles, a project worth about 4 trillion won ($2.94 billion). The company faces a permitting and impact-assessment process that could stretch beyond three years; the government plans a fast-track arrangement, including an Ulsan city memorandum of understanding in the second half of 2026 and a dedicated local project manager, to bring that down to within one year.

For clean hydrogen, the ministry will open a power bidding market this month, with a notice due in October, after the cancellation of the 2025 competitive tender left companies unable to commit to production and generation facilities. The government expects the move to unlock about 3 trillion won ($2.21 billion) in investment, with winners selected in the first half of 2027 under 15-year fixed-price contracts of 500 gigawatt-hours a year. Coal-ammonia co-firing remains outside the auction.

A combined-cycle power facility adopting a new liquefied natural gas blending technology will get its environmental impact assessment revision cut to within one month from more than three months per unit, advancing about 69.7 billion won ($51.3 million) in fuel savings and investment funding.

On semiconductors, the government will allow integrated ordering of electrical and telecommunications construction at fab sites, where current rules require separate contracts. A special permit for changes to cylinder cabinets used in chip manufacturing is also planned.

Other measures include fast-track designation of a national industrial complex in Muan, a follow-up to the relocation of Gwangju's military airport, expected to bring forward about 762 billion won ($561 million) in investment; an expansion of safety-management exceptions for battery-related hazardous materials to small and mid-sized battery equipment makers in 2027, promoting 70.2 billion won ($51.7 million) in new investment; and support for an underwater acoustic sensor company to move into a bio-convergence industrial technology complex, enabling 40 billion won ($29.4 million) in manufacturing expansion.

"We will closely examine the implementation of these measures so that they lead to actual investment results," said Joo Hwan-wook, a policy coordination official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Joo added that the government will prepare a third package of corporate investment and innovation support measures centered on new industries.