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[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The "Special Act on Strengthening and Protecting the Competitiveness of National Advanced Strategic Industries (hereinafter Semiconductor Special Act)," proposed under the leadership of the People Power Party's Special Committee for Strengthening Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness, is facing difficulties even being submitted to this year's regular National Assembly session.

In order to review and pass the bill, it must go through the standing committee submission process after proposal, but the short deliberation period is cited as the reason for the delay. Since the bill's core content includes the state's authority to establish semiconductor clusters, the later the bill is submitted, the more inevitable it is that follow-up policies to strengthen semiconductors will face setbacks.

According to comprehensive reporting on the 25th, it is uncertain whether the Semiconductor Special Act, proposed on the 4th under the leadership of the People Power Party's Semiconductor Special Committee, will be submitted to the full meeting of the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Business Committee scheduled for the 1st of next month. This is because the National Assembly has set the deadline for bills to be reviewed in the September regular session as those proposed by July 15. An official from the Industry Committee explained, "The submission timing is decided considering the bill's deliberation period." The amendment to the Semiconductor Special Act, which includes the key provision of the "authority to establish specialized complexes (clusters)," was proposed on the 4th and thus will be excluded from the list of bills to be reviewed in this regular session.

Yang Hyang-ja, Chairperson of the National Assembly Special Committee on Strengthening Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness, is announcing the achievements of the Special Committee's activities at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 2nd. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

The core of the Semiconductor Special Act amendment is that the state holds the authority to establish specialized complexes (clusters). Currently, the National Advanced Strategic Industry Committee has the authority to designate and revoke specialized complexes, and the amendment adds the authority to establish them. This reflects on-site voices that SK Hynix, which planned to invest 120 trillion won to build four factories in the Yongin semiconductor cluster, is experiencing delays in starting construction due to conflicts with Yeoju City over industrial water issues at the final stage. The bill also includes provisions to reduce various permit deadlines from the current maximum of two months to one month, expand exemptions from preliminary feasibility studies, increase university quotas in advanced fields, and relax appointment qualifications.

People Power Party lawmakers in the Industry Committee are in favor of applying exceptions to the Semiconductor Special Act amendment for submission. A People Power Party official said, "Semiconductor-related bills should not be treated as subjects of political strife but viewed from the perspective of 'cooperation,'" adding, "They must be passed even through fast-track procedures." However, the Democratic Party takes a cautious stance, stating, "We need to observe discussions between the Industry Committee chair and the party floor leaders."

Yang Hyang-ja, an independent lawmaker who served as the chair of the People Power Party's Semiconductor Special Committee, said in a phone interview, "A single failure in the semiconductor industry can mean permanent exclusion, and missing opportunities could lead to exclusion from the CHIPS alliance countries," emphasizing, "The amendment must be passed to prevent the semiconductor cluster project, which took 5 to 8 years to reach consensus and start, from collapsing at the last minute due to issues like industrial water or transmission towers."

The ruling and opposition floor leaders of the Industry Committee are expected to meet early next week to finalize the submission decision. The Industry Committee plans to submit the bill at the full meeting on September 1, when the regular session opens, and then hold a bill subcommittee meeting.

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