Yongin Special Mayor Lee Sang-il heavily criticized the actions of the Social Reform Committee, calling it ‘shaking up national projects.’ The Yongin Idong-Namsa-eup Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex is not simply a regional development project, but a strategic base where the survival of the nation depends. It has already passed all legal and administrative procedures, including designation as a specialized complex and approval of the industrial complex plan, and the 360 ​​trillion won sales contract and land compensation procedures signed by Samsung Electronics with LH are also steadily progressing. In a situation where even the judiciary acknowledged the legality of the project by dismissing a lawsuit filed by an environmental group, belatedly attempting to make this the subject of a trial of public opinion is a dangerous idea that will shake the legal stability of national policy to its roots.

The key point pointed out by this mayor is ‘inconsistent equity’ and ‘political intention’. Even though the civil society public discussion process that was so emphasized was omitted in the process of creating the SK Hynix semiconductor cluster in Wonsam-myeon, which was decided during the Moon Jae-in administration in the past, why is the current government's projects being held to such strict standards? Ultimately, this is raising suspicions that this is nothing more than a cover-up to fulfill the demands of certain political forces advocating for the relocation of semiconductor fabs to regional areas. Even if you look at the examples of the United States and Taiwan, which are leading global semiconductor countries, you cannot find any country where decisions on location selection and large-scale investments, where the survival of a company is at stake, are made through majority vote or public debate.

The semiconductor industry must strictly follow industrial logic and market principles. It is out of line with the global trend for the political world and civil society to interfere with decisions made by companies while taking their own risks, taking into account complex variables such as power supply, water security, logistics efficiency, and securing professional manpower. In particular, as the demand for semiconductor manpower is rapidly increasing, there is also an active educational movement in Yongin to nurture gifted students who can be immediately put into industrial fields, including a semiconductor-specialized Meister High School scheduled to open next year. Political intervention that pours cold water on the self-sustaining efforts of this industrial ecosystem will only result in a decline in national competitiveness.

Yongin’s future as a semiconductor base does not end with simply building factories. As suggested by the Yongin City Government Research Institute, we must now go beyond creating jobs and design a ‘city of residence’ so that the inflow of talented people and their families can fully settle in Yongin. Creating a living area close to residential areas by expanding residential, cultural, medical, and educational infrastructure around the industrial complex is the true completion of a semiconductor megacluster. However, these efforts to improve settlement conditions can only bear fruit when the stable promotion of national industrial complexes is guaranteed.