Ruling party launches all-out push for 3 mega-projects, pledges legislative blitz

The Democratic Party of Korea has formally launched a special committee to support the government's three mega-projects — semiconductors, data centers and physical AI — signaling an all-out legislative and budgetary push behind the initiative.

The party plans to complete all related legislation by February next year at the latest, matching the pace that President Lee Jae-myung has personally identified as critical to the projects' success. Unresolved questions remain, however, including public resistance to additional nuclear power plants and the prospect of conflict with civic groups over plans to shorten environmental impact assessment periods.

Han Byung-do, the Democratic Party's acting leader and floor leader, said at a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday that "speed is the competitive edge" for the three mega-projects, on which "the fate of the Republic of Korea depends." Han said the party had upgraded its internal task force — formed when the projects were announced — to a special committee reporting directly to the acting party leader as of Wednesday. "We will leave no gaps, covering not only legislation but also cooperation with local governments," he said.

Han added that the party would move quickly to pass related bills, including the Special Mega-Zone Act, the Water Management Framework Act, the Waterworks Act and the Industrial Location Act, while actively backing the necessary budget. "The government and the National Assembly will step in to remove anticipated obstacles — permits, regulatory systems, infrastructure — so that companies can focus solely on investment and production," he said.

The Special Mega-Zone Act is a new piece of legislation designed to underpin the three mega-projects and is expected to contain a wide range of special exemption provisions.

Rep. Jang Cheol-min of the Democratic Party, the ruling party's floor whip on the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Startups Committee, met with reporters on Wednesday after a party-government consultation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. On the timeline for the Special Mega-Zone Act, he said the party was targeting a "tight schedule" of holding a public legislative hearing in July or August, clearing the budget session in November and finalizing the bill in December. "Even if things slip further, the extension deadline is February next year — it will not go beyond that," he said.

The ruling party also plans to wrap up the introduction of related bills this month. The likely approach is for individual lawmakers to submit bills, which would then go through internal discussion and coordination. Rep. Jang said that for a new piece of legislation, partial enactment is not possible. "Even if contentious issues need to be ironed out, the bill has to move as a whole package — that is the only way to add or amend provisions later," he said.

The Democratic Party's special committee for the three mega-projects has about 20 members. Han serves as committee chair, with policy committee chief Han Jeong-ae as vice chair.

Significant challenges remain. The semiconductor industry is calling for stable electricity supply through nuclear power plants and liquefied natural gas combined heat and power facilities.

On the nuclear front, five of the six Hanbit nuclear reactors in the Honam region are currently in operation — Unit 1 was shut down after reaching its design life, and Unit 2 is approaching its license expiry in September. Safety review proceedings at the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission for the continued operation of Hanbit Units 1 and 2 are underway, but local residents are strongly opposed. Even if new reactors were pursued, winning public consent could take considerable time.

Min Hyeong-bae, mayor of the South Jeolla-Gwangju Special City, said in a media interview that while power supply is not an area local governments can directly control, the city would play a supporting role in building public acceptance among residents. On water supply, he said current resources are largely sufficient to support four fabrication plants, but the city needs to prepare by raising the height of Dongbok Dam to secure additional water volume and constructing a water conveyance tunnel.