'Perfect infrastructure with power, water and workforce,' lawmaker pledges
Rep. Lee Gae-ho, who represents the South Jeolla Province constituencies of Damyang-gun, Hampyeong, Yeonggwang and Jangseong-gun, welcomed Sunday's announcement of Samsung Electronics' designation of a new semiconductor fab candidate site in the Gwangju area and SK Group's plan to invest 400 trillion won ($259 billion) in a southwestern cluster — calling the plans "a historic milestone for balanced national development." The announcements came at a public briefing presided over by President Lee Jae Myung.
In a statement released that day, Lee said the large-scale investment announcement marked "a groundbreaking turning point toward building a Korea where everyone prospers, moving beyond the capital-centric, single-hub system." He expressed deep gratitude to the companies for "their bold decision to make the renewable energy-rich Honam region a stage for a new leap forward."
Lee rebuffed concerns raised by some in the opposition about water shortages, calling them "baseless worries that overlook the clean and abundant industrial water supply capacity of the Yeongsan River basin." He stressed that "unproductive debate must stop immediately, as this is a core project that opens the nation's future."
Lee said Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong had cited "securing power, water and workforce, along with infrastructure support" as conditions for a new semiconductor complex, and named the Cheomdan 3 district — adjacent to Jangseong-gun and Damyang-gun — as the unrivaled optimal site for front-end process investment.
"This location is fully prepared — it has a large-scale power grid and water resources already verified through the ground-breaking of the Pine data center, and it can establish the principle of locally producing and consuming electricity generated from renewable energy," Lee said.
Lee pledged to work alongside the Lee Jae Myung administration to "swiftly complete water, electricity and workforce infrastructure so that the final investment proceeds without a hitch, befitting the stature of a world-class global company competing for an overwhelming edge on the world stage."
sij@heraldcorp.com
