Lawmaker Lee Eon-ju credited with pushing to drop Greater Seoul exclusion clause from semiconductor cluster bill

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Eon-ju, senior vice chair of the party's AI powerhouse committee, is drawing attention for her role in securing the removal of a controversial clause from the enforcement decree of the Special Semiconductor Industry Act. The clause would have barred the Greater Seoul area from eligibility under the decree, threatening to derail the Yongin semiconductor cluster project.

According to political circles Friday, Lee repeatedly questioned Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-geun during National Assembly interpellation sessions on the economy, pressing the government to clarify its position on the Yongin semiconductor cluster project. She did so as part of her effort to lay the institutional groundwork for the project's swift implementation as originally planned.

She also held a series of meetings with the minister and vice minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to convey her concerns, and joined fellow Democratic Party lawmakers from southern Gyeonggi Province in submitting a joint petition to the presidential office.

In addition, Lee held frequent working-level consultations with officials from relevant ministries while also convening a press conference at the National Assembly calling for the project to proceed without modification — pursuing the issue through both public and behind-the-scenes channels, according to observers.

As a result, the government removed the disputed Greater Seoul exclusion clause from the final enforcement decree, resolving the institutional uncertainty surrounding the Yongin semiconductor cluster. The project has now secured the foundation to move forward as a key hub for nationally designated advanced strategic industries, in line with the original plan.

Regarding the outcome, Lee said the revision "reflects the recognition that national competitiveness and balanced regional development are not competing values but goals to be achieved together," adding that she was grateful to all those who had shared her commitment throughout the process.

"What matters now is speed," she said. She added that she would work to establish a consultative body bringing together relevant ministries — including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy — along with local governments such as Yongin city, to carefully manage follow-up tasks including power and water infrastructure, permits and site development.