President Moon: "Large-scale National Projects to be Promoted" First Project to be Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator? ... 'Key Blue House Figures' Also Interested

Cheong Wa Dae Panorama / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] As President Moon Jae-in pulls out the 'large-scale national projects' card to stimulate the economy weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic, projects that had been delayed for various reasons are expected to gain momentum. In particular, the site for the next-generation synchrotron radiation accelerator (4th generation circular synchrotron radiation accelerator), with a project cost reaching 1 trillion won, is expected to be announced soon. Given the economic effects amounting to trillions of won and the high expectations for job creation, combined with the influence of so-called 'Blue House insiders,' the final competition among local governments is fierce.

According to the government on the 29th, the site for the next-generation synchrotron radiation accelerator is scheduled to be announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 7th of next month. Once the preferred negotiation region is selected, a preliminary feasibility study will immediately commence. At the Cabinet meeting the day before, President Moon described the COVID-19 situation as "truly an economic wartime situation" and said, "Large-scale national projects that had been delayed due to conflicting interests should be promptly promoted." With negative growth forecasted for this year due to COVID-19, the intention is to accelerate projects that had been delayed due to conflicts among local governments or political reasons in order to revitalize the economy and create jobs, thus launching an all-out effort to stimulate the economy.

The 4th generation synchrotron radiation accelerator is equipment that accelerates material particles to the speed of light and observes their movement down to femtoseconds (one quadrillionth of a second). It is used in research such as new material discovery and semiconductors. Following Japan's export restrictions on South Korea last year, the project was promoted on a scale of 1 trillion won (800 billion won from the government and 200 billion won from local governments) to enhance competitiveness in domestic materials, parts, and equipment research and development (R&D). Although there were concerns that the delayed site selection schedule might make it impossible to start within the year, the project is gaining rapid momentum in line with President Moon's 'emergency economic phase' policy.

The regions competing to host the project are ▲Cheongju City in Chungbuk ▲Pohang City in Gyeongbuk ▲Chuncheon City in Gangwon ▲Naju City in Jeonnam. Among these, it is analyzed that the competition has effectively narrowed down to a two-way race between Cheongju and Naju.

It is also reported that senior Blue House officials from each region have been quietly lending their support behind the scenes. Recently, during internal Blue House meetings, some aides debated the pros and cons of each region regarding the synchrotron radiation accelerator hosting site. Ahead of the April 15 general election, Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan visited Gwangju and stated, "We will build the synchrotron radiation accelerator in Jeonnam," which sparked protests from other regions and led to a situation where the remarks had to be managed. This is why concerns are already emerging that the Blue House or influential ruling party figures may influence the site selection results.

Some interpret President Moon's mention of 'large-scale national projects' as referring to the Southeast region new airport. However, this issue has been ongoing for over a decade, and since the Prime Minister's Office agreed to review it last year, efforts have been focused on COVID-19 prevention, leaving little room for discussion. There has been no progress to the point of reaching a conclusion. A senior Blue House official said, "President Moon did not specify any particular project," adding, "He meant that projects that can be initiated related to COVID-19 should be expedited."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.