People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo [Yonhap]

By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business

People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo on Friday questioned whether President Lee Jae Myung has the authority to direct private companies to invest hundreds of trillions of won in a specific region, calling the move a clear abuse of power.

In a Facebook post Friday, Ahn said Cheong Wa Dae had officially announced plans for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to invest in semiconductor facilities in the Honam region. "The policy chief floated the idea by saying 'related discussions are in the final stages,' and President Lee has moved to arrange meetings with Chey Tae-won and Lee Jae-yong," he wrote.

Ahn said the situation amounted to the president and Cheong Wa Dae leading the charge while the Democratic Party pushed from behind, resulting in semiconductor infrastructure worth 400 trillion won ($260 billion) being dropped into a single region.

He added that even government-led infrastructure projects funded by the public budget must undergo rigorous preliminary feasibility studies and economic assessments if they exceed 100 billion won. Local government grant programs, he noted, are also subject to open nationwide applications and multiple rounds of screening before a recipient is selected.

"And yet, an astronomical sum exceeding half of South Korea's entire annual budget — with no legal basis whatsoever, using private-sector capital rather than government funds — is being demanded by Cheong Wa Dae for investment in a hand-picked region. This is a clear abuse of authority," Ahn said.

Ahn also recalled that during the state affairs manipulation trial, a guilty verdict was handed down simply because a president had proposed that a conglomerate contribute to a specific foundation. "By coincidence, the people who suffered at that time are none other than the current chairmen of Samsung and SK Hynix," he said. He added that President Lee and the Democratic Party appeared to have forgotten how they had mocked and condemned such conduct as collusion between business and politics.

He also said that in a free-market economy, investment decisions must be made entirely by companies themselves. "It is no exaggeration to say that the current conduct of President Lee and his policy chief amounts to that of individuals caught red-handed abusing their authority," Ahn said.


mp1256@heraldcorp.com