Lee Sang-il, the People Power Party candidate for Yongin mayor, visited Samsung Electronics' Giheung Campus on Wednesday and emphasized the need for uninterrupted progress on the Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex.
The site visit was joined by Yang Hyang-ja, the candidate for Gyeonggi governor, along with Kim Moon-soo, chairman of the People Power Party's general election committee, and Kim Sun-kyo, chairman of the party's Gyeonggi provincial committee.
According to Lee's campaign, the group toured Samsung Electronics' semiconductor research fab NRD-K before holding a meeting to discuss ways to strengthen the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry and the progress of the national industrial complex. At the meeting, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Jun Young-hyun said in his opening remarks, "NRD-K, which receives 10 trillion won in annual R&D investment alone, was completed at the end of last year," adding that "the active administrative support of candidate Lee Sang-il and the city of Yongin has been a great help."
Jun continued, "The advanced semiconductor industrial complex should have already broken ground according to the original plan, but it has been delayed due to various issues," and said, "Administrative support from the government and the National Assembly is urgently needed, and active cooperation from candidates Lee Sang-il and Yang Hyang-ja is also necessary."
Lee explained the institutional improvements achieved during the national industrial complex project and reaffirmed his commitment to moving the project forward. "Since the national industrial complex was announced in 2023, I have attended inter-ministerial task force meetings and helped bring about an expansion of capital gains tax reductions and improvements to the land compensation system to ensure smooth relocation and compensation," he said.
"Since December last year, there have been continued moves to destabilize the Yongin semiconductor project," he added. "It is very worrying to think that if approval of the national industrial complex plan had not been granted on December 31, 2024, before the current administration took office, the project could have headed toward being scrapped."
He stressed, "If the national industrial complex project wavers with changes in the political environment, how can the international community trust our country? The government must clearly express its will to push ahead with the national industrial complex plan as scheduled."
Targeting Democratic Party Gyeonggi governor candidate Choo Mi-ae and Yongin mayor candidate Hyun Keun-taek of the same party, Lee criticized, "How can figures who have nothing to do with today's Yongin semiconductor industry possibly lead the future of Yongin semiconductors?"
