The Democratic Party has launched a dedicated task force (TF) to support the Lee Jae-myung administration's "three mega projects" and plans to accelerate follow-up legislation. The party also said it will pursue support policies for young people without setback.
"The Democratic Party is mobilizing overwhelming support for the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration's three mega projects," Han Jeoung-ae, chair of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, said at a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on Tuesday. "Yesterday, we established the party's three mega projects TF, and with me serving as chair, we plan to begin full-scale legislative support centered on the Policy Committee."
She presented key legislative tasks, including revising the Framework Act on Water Management to secure a stable water supply and amending the Industrial Sites Act to shorten the time required to develop industrial complexes. She also explained that the party will designate advanced strategic industry special zones through the enactment of the Mega Special Zone Act, which was pledged during the June 3 local elections as part of regionally-led growth, and will pursue various regulatory exceptions and policy support.
"Through swift enactment and revision of legislation, we will build tailored infrastructure and create an investment environment," Han said. "We will also prepare the power supply without setback."
She directly rebutted the People Power Party's claims of preferential treatment for the Honam region surrounding the creation of a semiconductor cluster in the southwestern region. "The southwestern investments by Samsung and SK hynix are the best choices based on the companies' comprehensive judgment," Han said. "This is a nationwide advanced industry strategy to resolve the concentration in the single Seoul metropolitan hub and to make the domestic semiconductor supply chain bigger and stronger."
Regarding concerns over water and power supply in the southwestern region, she drew a line, saying, "It can be sufficiently secured through the surplus capacity of the Juam Dam and Jangheung Dam and methods such as water conversion, and stable power supply is possible by combining renewable energy, nuclear power, energy storage systems (ESS), and power grid operation technology within the southwestern region." She continued, "The People Power Party should immediately stop political strife and cooperate in advancing national future industries," and stressed, "The party and government will mobilize all national capabilities to build a Korean-style artificial intelligence ecosystem that ties together semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers."
Han presented youth policy as a key task. "The reality that young people are experiencing is not easy, with the youth employment rate continuing to decline for 25 consecutive months," she said. "We take seriously the fact that young people's perception of jobs remains frozen even amid a semiconductor export boom."
"We will institutionalize policies that encompass youth jobs, housing, asset formation, cost-of-living relief, expanded leisure life, and strengthened safety nets, and support them so they lead to changes in life," she added. "We will do our best on livelihood support policies that the public can feel."
