People Power Party Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja speaks at a press conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday regarding a proposed enforcement decree under the Semiconductor Special Act that would restrict new semiconductor cluster development to non-Greater Seoul regions. [Yonhap]
People Power Party Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja speaks at a press conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday regarding a proposed enforcement decree under the Semiconductor Special Act that would restrict new semiconductor cluster development to non-Greater Seoul regions. [Yonhap]

By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business

People Power Party Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja said Tuesday that if the Lee Jae-myung government, "blinded by shallow vote calculations," moves to exclude what is already the world's largest semiconductor ecosystem, "it would be an act of self-destruction against South Korea's semiconductor industry."

Yang made the remarks at a press conference at the National Assembly, saying reports emerged Monday that the Lee government plans to push through an enforcement decree excluding Gyeonggi Province and other Greater Seoul areas from semiconductor cluster designations once local elections conclude.

"It is all the more shocking because these reports come not long after the Lee government circulated a draft decree in May that would exclude the Greater Seoul area from semiconductor clusters and cut support for the region — drawing fierce criticism from Gyeonggi residents," she said. "Waiting for the election to end before forcing through the exclusion of Greater Seoul from semiconductor clusters is nothing short of thoroughly mocking and disregarding the 13.75 million people of Gyeonggi Province."

She added that southern Gyeonggi cities — Yongin, Pyeongtaek, Icheon, Hwaseong, Suwon and Anseong — form "the heart of South Korea's semiconductor industry, centered on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix," and that "the semiconductor industry is a national advanced strategic industry built on the comprehensive combination of technology, supply chains and talent — not political logic."

Yang said global competitors including the United States, China, Japan and Taiwan are concentrating infrastructure and supply chain support around their existing semiconductor hubs. "To go against this global trend and exclude Gyeonggi Province and the Greater Seoul area — the world's foremost semiconductor production hub — from semiconductor policy would be tantamount to destroying South Korea's semiconductor industry," she said.

Yang called on the government and the Democratic Party of Korea to clearly state their position on excluding Greater Seoul from semiconductor cluster designations, and demanded that special regulatory exemptions at the level of national strategic industries be applied to existing semiconductor production bases such as Gyeonggi Province's smart semiconductor belt.

"What the Lee Jae-myung government and the Democratic Party have shown is nothing but disappointment. They hemmed and hawed at first, then flatly denied it when Gyeonggi residents pushed back, and even tried to smooth things over by floating talk of a Gyeonggi mega-cluster," she said. "I solemnly declare that I will fight to the end, until the exclusion and neglect of Greater Seoul from semiconductor clusters is completely reversed, in order to save Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor industry."


mp1256@heraldcorp.com