Chung Jum-sik, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party, said he would consider pushing for a parliamentary investigation into the 800 trillion won semiconductor investment plan for the southwestern region, calling it a "politically engineered decision." His aim is to have the National Assembly scrutinize the site selection and decision-making process for the large-scale national project.
At a floor leaders' meeting at the National Assembly on Monday, Chung took aim at the government's "National Report on Three Mega Projects for Korea's Great Leap" held the previous day. "President Lee Jae-myung touting astronomical investment while flanking himself with conglomerate chairmen as supporting cast is the very symbol of a state-controlled economy," he said. He added, "Even if President Lee shouts about becoming an industrial powerhouse with a wide lead through all kinds of flowery rhetoric and rosy outlooks, the 800 trillion won semiconductor industry investment in Gwangju and South Jeolla cannot escape criticism that it is a decision driven by political engineering."
Chung said, "Before even officially announcing the location of a large-scale semiconductor investment on which the survival of a core national strategic industry depends, they abruptly threw it out one day." He added, "The Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy appeared on a YouTube broadcast watched only by Democratic Party supporters and leaked the information through a flashy investment advertisement."
He went on to criticize, "Right now, the Democratic Party is split into pro-Lee and pro-Moon factions ahead of its convention, exchanging all sorts of derogatory terms and engaging in extreme confrontation. This government announcement is no different from conducting pre-campaign activities for the Democratic Party convention using taxpayers' money and conglomerate capital."
While agreeing on the need for balanced regional development, Chung firmly opposed the hasty push. "Balanced regional development cannot be achieved through shallow political engineering and the coercion of power," he stressed. "Each local government should compete fairly by offering incentives to attract companies, and companies should be guaranteed the freedom of choice."
He added, "Astronomical investment must maintain procedural transparency and fairness, and the current practice of pushing it through hastily undermines the innovative will of local governments striving to overcome population decline and weakens companies' competitiveness. It does not benefit the Honam region or the entire nation either."
Chung also said, "If the government and ruling party evade such legitimate questions, we as the opposition have no choice but to seriously consider a parliamentary investigation. We held a parliamentary investigation even over a 10,000 won salmon rice bowl, so there is no reason we cannot do so over an 800 trillion won semiconductor investment."
