President Lee Jae-myung rebutted recently raised suspicions of political interference regarding the "three mega-projects," saying, "If they had been a political tool for managing approval ratings, they would have started before the local elections." His comments came after some pointed out that companies' large-scale regional investment announcements were driven by political motives, such as the Democratic Party of Korea's national convention. Presidential Office aides also mounted an active defense, giving meaning to the latest facility investment by stating that "artificial intelligence (AI) is not a technology revolution but a production revolution."
Kim Yong-beom, director of the Presidential Office's Policy Office, wrote on Facebook on the 5th, "Competitiveness in the AI era is not the competitiveness of individual companies but the competitiveness of the nation's entire production system." Kim stressed, "The most important question going forward is not who designs the more advanced AI, but who can produce and operate AI the most, the most stably, and for the longest time." He emphasized, "The state is no longer a regulator of the market but a production platform that builds power grids, develops industrial sites, and organizes supply chains."
He then proposed that the state must design a virtuous cycle structure leading from "infrastructure construction to the reproduction of production capacity and distribution." He highlighted that because the AI era demands a transformation of production methods and macroeconomic systems that goes beyond mere technological advancement, the state needs to step forward and redesign the industrial system.
Earlier, President Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on the 4th, "A grand national transformation on a world-changing scale is something I have dreamed of for a very long time, well before I took office." He explained, "From immediately after taking office, I made national-level preparations for large-scale regional investment and development for balanced growth and requested cooperation from the business community, but progress was not fast. In the midst of that, the government's recent policy focusing investment on future advanced industries such as AI became linked with the structural, long-term, and explosive positive restructuring of the AI semiconductor industry, making large-scale regional investment possible."
Referring to criticism that these mega-projects are "for managing approval ratings," he countered, "Approval ratings are important, but what is more important are the results and performance that will improve people's lives." He added, "It has been my long-held belief that approval ratings naturally follow results and performance."
On the 29th of last month, the Presidential Office chaired reporting sessions in which companies announced large-scale investment plans by region — including the southwest, Chungcheong, and Yeongnam regions — beginning with the "Three Mega-Projects National Report." Samsung disclosed investment plans of 2,655 trillion won and SK 2,100 trillion won, for total investment plans exceeding 4,700 trillion won. Regarding this, the opposition poured out criticism that semiconductor investment concentrated in the Honam region was work intended to create favorable terrain for former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, a member of the pro-Lee faction, ahead of the Democratic Party convention.
Beyond Kim, other Presidential Office aides also stepped forward to repeatedly assert the justification for the mega-projects. Ha Joon-kyung, senior secretary for economic growth, said on a YouTube broadcast on the 4th, "If the industrialization of the old Park Chung-hee era is called the first industrialization, then this is the second industrialization." He forecast, "Regions will also gain opportunities for growth, and a great many jobs will be created in the process of factories being built." He also said, "The chairmen (of the companies participating in the investment) are grateful to the president," adding, "It has become a good occasion to think about the balanced development of the entire country."
Meanwhile, President Lee will chair a public-private joint review meeting on the semiconductor cluster on the 6th, immediately beginning follow-up procedures to implement the mega-projects. The meeting will be attended by Presidential Office officials as well as ministers of relevant ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, along with the mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. From the private sector, CEO-level executives from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are scheduled to attend.
