[Anchor]
As it has become known that the government will soon announce plans to establish additional semiconductor complexes in regions including Honam, a heated debate has erupted in political circles. The People Power Party criticized the move as a "revival of a state-led economy" with political motives, while the Democratic Party hit back, telling them not to stoke regional conflict.
Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the story.
[Reporter]
At the People Power Party leadership meeting today (June 25), criticism continued that the government's review of establishing a semiconductor complex in the Honam region is not a "pure business decision by companies" but rather a "revival of a state-led economy that twists the arms of businesses."
There were also suggestions that the region was pre-selected due to political considerations ahead of the Democratic Party's national convention this coming August.
[Kim Jae-won/Supreme Council Member, People Power Party: There is even talk that this is a secret card to win over the hearts of Honam voters during the Democratic Party's national convention process...]
Lawmakers from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions belonging to the People Power Party held a press conference, arguing that semiconductor complexes, which are expected to have massive power demands, should be built in the Yeongnam region, where stable power supply is possible from nuclear power plants on the east coast.
[Lee Man-hee/People Power Party Lawmaker (Yeongcheon-Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk): Daegu and Gyeongbuk are already core hubs for the semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment industry, and...]
Voices emerged from the Democratic Party claiming that the People Power Party is stoking regional conflict.
They argued that the consideration of the Jeonnam-Gwangju region as a new investment candidate is the result of economic judgment, and that even a company's future investment strategy should not be used as material for political strife.
[Ahn Do-geul/Democratic Party Lawmaker (Dong-Nam Eul, Gwangju): An investment plan on the scale of hundreds of trillions of won is a matter decided based on a company's thorough business feasibility analysis and review of future profitability.]
However, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Eui-kyeom, whose constituency is in Jeonbuk, remarked that it is not a case of being jealous of a cousin buying land, while also suggesting that the facilities be distributed, with one company in Jeonnam-Gwangju and another in Jeonbuk.
Another lawmaker stated, "While the Hyundai Motor Group is investing 9 trillion won in Saemangeum, there is a sense of relative deprivation regarding the 200 trillion won-scale semiconductor investment in Jeonnam-Gwangju," adding that "lawmakers from Jeonbuk are discussing a response."
Reported by Go Jeong-hyeon | Video by Oh Young-chun and Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin | Graphics by Lee Jong-jung
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