Lee Junseok and Yoo Uidong: "Honam Semiconductor Investment Is a Political Event... Yongin Must Come First"

"Proceed with the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster Without Delay"

Calls for Disclosure of Evaluation Criteria for Honam Selection

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, and Yoo Uidong, a member of the People Power Party, criticized the government on June 29 for using national strategic industries for political purposes in relation to its announcement of a semiconductor investment project in the Honam region. They urged the government to proceed with the Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex project as planned, without delays.

Lee and Yoo, whose respective constituencies are Dongtan and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, held a joint press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall that day. They said, "The government is hastily announcing a new location for the semiconductor cluster, timed to coincide with the Democratic Party's national convention," making their position clear.

Yoo Uidong, a member of the People Power Party (right in the photo), and Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, are presenting their stance on the semiconductor investment project in Honam, which the Blue House is scheduled to announce on the 29th, at the National Assembly Communication Hall. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

They emphasized, "Samsung Electronics is currently building the Pyeongtaek P5 and P5-2 plants, targeting operations in 2028 and 2029, respectively, and the Yongin National Industrial Complex is also being pushed forward with a groundbreaking scheduled for 2028. The government has designated Yongin as the site for semiconductors by even resorting to compulsory land acquisition. What does the sacrifice of residents who trusted the government and gave up their land amount to now?"

In particular, they pointed out, "Just three weeks ago, Chairman Chey Tae-won stated that, considering factors such as electricity, land, manpower, and water, SK Group would focus on Yongin for now. Yet, after only three weeks, the government is announcing investment in Honam. The only thing that has changed is invisible pressure, not industrial conditions."

They also criticized the government for naming the event that day as "Super Gap," saying, "The essence of a 'super gap' is choice and concentration, but the government's policy is about dividing up the pie. It looks as though the future of companies is being dictated not by their boards of directors, but by the Blue House."

The two called on the government to: ▲ complete the Pyeongtaek project and push forward with the Yongin National Industrial Complex according to the original schedule; ▲ disclose the implementation plans for power and water supply to the Yongin complex; and ▲ release the objective evaluation criteria for the site selection in Honam, as well as whether the decision was made by corporate boards of directors.

They also urged Democratic Party lawmakers representing Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, and Yongin, "Rather than remaining silent simply because these are government plans, you must join us in defending the region's industrial base." They added, "Semiconductors are not an issue of party politics, but a matter of national competitiveness. Votes disappear after four years, but lost competitiveness lasts for 30 years."

Immediately after the press conference, Assemblyman Yoo added at a briefing, "If there were at least a reasonable scoring rubric for the criteria, it would be understandable, but it is difficult to accept such a hasty decision for a project of this scale, which is tantamount to a 1,000 trillion won state-led project."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.