Yoo Seong-min challenges Lee over Honam semiconductor plan, says 'stop milking Park Chung-hee'

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seong-min has sharply criticized plans for a large-scale semiconductor investment in the Honam region.

In a social media post Saturday, Yoo said President Lee Jae Myung had "run out of logic while talking about water and renewable energy, and finally pulled out the tried-and-true card of Honam discrimination and Honam neglect." He added that Lee was invoking the claim that the Park Chung-hee government — which ended 47 years ago — had discriminated against the Honam region. "How long do you plan to keep milking Park Chung-hee?" Yoo wrote.

Yoo said the Democratic Party had governed for 16 of the past 28 years since 1998, and questioned what grounds remained to speak of Honam discrimination or neglect. "Are you saying the Democratic Party governments that ruled for 16 years discriminated against Honam?" he said. "And what does Yeongnam have to eat?"

Pointing out that Daegu had ranked last nationwide in per capita gross regional domestic product for 33 consecutive years, Yoo said large-scale corporate investment — such as in semiconductors — was something every region facing population decline desperately wanted. "Let them compete fairly," he said.

"If you allow fair competition and leave the choice to the companies, a rational basis will emerge for which location is best," Yoo said. "But political power is deciding this crucial, century-defining national matter behind closed doors — 'shut up and it's Honam, no matter what' — so there can be no rational basis."

He accused President Lee of stoking regional sentiment and called for a public debate, demanding that the plan be reconsidered from scratch if the evidence proved weak.

Yoo said Lee's invocation of Honam discrimination and neglect was itself "regional divisiveness that stirs up regional sentiment with no rational basis whatsoever." He warned that if Lee pushed ahead with the Honam semiconductor investment on Tuesday without a fair competitive process, "that would be a foolish act by President Lee Jae Myung himself — one that ignites fierce regional conflict and regionalism. Keep that in mind."

"Without fair competition, no one outside Honam will accept this," Yoo said. "Let's debate fiercely, as the president says. But promise that if the case turns out to be weak, you will go back to square one."