President Lee Jae-myung has personally raised his voice against the opposition's criticism over the establishment of a semiconductor plant in the Honam region.
"Administrative Guidance, Not Abuse of Power"... President Fires Back at Opposition on Social Media
Lee wrote on his social media account Thursday, "The world is not made up only of black and white. There is gray, and there is red and blue."
The president said, "For those who have politically exploited national policy and coerced companies by twisting their arms, this matter may also look that way." He explained, "To put it precisely, this is something CEOs decided on after judging it would benefit their companies, based on the government's creation of a business environment—including water, electricity, land, infrastructure, workforce development, and living conditions—and the persuasion and requests of public officials."
Lee added, "This is not called abuse of power or coercive instruction, but rather administrative guidance or facilitative administration," and "It is the result of public officials fulfilling their rightful responsibilities to achieve the administrative goal of balanced national development, which has become the Republic of Korea's survival strategy."
The president continued, "The historic achievement of attracting unprecedented mega-scale regional investment deserves praise," and appealed, "Please consider the morale of the public officials in charge who created this administration's greatest achievement, and the business leaders who made a great decision beneficial to the people and the nation." He also wrote, "I hope people will not criticize and slander others by presuming, based on their own past actions or experiences, that others will behave the same way."
Water Shortage Controversy Directly Rebutted... Opposition Calls It "Declaration Without Scientific Basis"
Earlier that morning, Lee had also posted on social media, "Honam has as much water as Yeongnam or the metropolitan area." This was a direct rebuttal after some raised the issue of water shortages ahead of the announcement of a second semiconductor cluster in the Honam region.
Lee declared, "Samsung and Hynix, advanced semiconductor companies competing for the world's first and second positions, are not foolish enough to plan mega-scale plant construction without review in a region lacking water, an essential element for semiconductor production."
The People Power Party sharpened its criticism of Lee's posts, calling them "a one-sided declaration not backed by scientific evidence." People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo posted on social media the previous day, "In the Republic of Korea, a liberal democratic nation, does the president have the authority to order a private company—not even a public enterprise—to invest hundreds of trillions of won in a specific region?" He pressed, "It is no exaggeration to say that the current conduct of President Lee and the policy chief is the conduct of those committing abuse of power in the act."
Gwangju-Jeonnam Semiconductor Complex Confirmed? Why President Lee Jae-myung and Chairman Lee Jae-yong Met One-on-One on the 25th
