Semiconductor support tops agenda for new South Jeolla-Gwangju special city assembly

What will be the first order of business for the South Jeolla-Gwangju Special City Assembly, which launches Wednesday?

The answer is an ordinance supporting the 800 trillion won ($578 billion) semiconductor investment cluster, formally titled the "South Jeolla-Gwangju Global Semiconductor Strategic Investment Support Ordinance."

The newly merged special city assembly will convene at midnight Wednesday, elect a speaker and then hold a plenary session to take up the foundational bylaws of the integrated special city assembly.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers on the assembly plan to pass the semiconductor support ordinance to back President Lee Jae Myung's push for an 800 trillion won southwestern semiconductor cluster anchored by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

The ordinance calls for establishing a special city-level semiconductor strategy committee to attract and support corporate investment.

It also lays the legal groundwork for the city to provide administrative and fiscal support scaled to the size of each company's investment.

Both South Jeolla Province and the city of Gwangju had their own semiconductor support ordinances, but neither was included among the mandatory bylaws required at the launch of the integrated special city, leaving the new ordinance to be taken up at Wednesday's inaugural session.

The ordinance will be submitted and processed as a lawmaker-initiated bill rather than one introduced by the executive branch.