Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said Tuesday that the party would back the country's three major mega-projects with the necessary laws and institutional frameworks "at the right time" so they can drive growth for all of South Korea.
Speaking at the party's floor leadership meeting at the National Assembly, Han said President Lee Jae Myung chaired the second joint public-private review meeting Monday and personally assessed the overall progress of the three mega-projects. "The president said the situation calls for not just a speed offensive but a blitzkrieg, and he directed us to treat the next year as a golden window — pursuing the securing of sites, power, and water infrastructure alongside permit and regulatory improvements, all at the same time," Han said.
Han added that the National Assembly has a critical role to play alongside the government if the three mega-projects are to deliver growth that cuts across class, generation and region. "The Assembly will fulfill its responsibilities. As the president emphasized, we will also move quickly on revising and enacting the relevant legislation," he said.
Han was set to visit the semiconductor cluster development site in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, that day to hold a field briefing under the party's special committee supporting the three mega-projects. "I will listen to on-site requests regarding the construction of power and water supply chains and transport networks needed for early operation, and directly review infrastructure and regulatory improvement tasks," he said.
Han went on to say that the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee would also hold a plenary session Wednesday to receive a briefing from the Ministry of Employment and Labor. "We will carefully examine how to ensure the special act on mega-special zones provides a reasonable framework that protects both corporate innovation capacity and workers' health rights," he added.
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