Sanjaso Committee Vice Chair Kim Han-jung: "Semiconductor Special Act, Addressing Regional Imbalance is Key... Will Gather Opinions to Prevent Hasty Legislation"

National Advanced Strategic Industry Act Amendment Passed Through General Meeting
Regional Imbalance Issue Likely to Become a Key Point

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Kim Han-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and chair of the Industry, Trade and Energy Patent Subcommittee that will review the K-Chips Act (Amendment to the Act on National Advanced Strategic Industries), said in a phone interview with this outlet on the 20th, “There are concerns that the current bill could cause regional imbalances, so the demands and opinions of local governments outside the metropolitan area must also be collected.”

The part of the K-Chips Act that the Democratic Party sees as potentially causing a gap between the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas is Article ‘Da’. It states, “When designating specialized complexes, priority should be given to regions where businesses engaged in strategic industries and their support facilities are located or intend to be located.” At the plenary session the day before, Democratic Party member Lee Yong-bin pointed out that this clause “could encourage the concentration of companies in the metropolitan area according to their demands.”

Regarding this, Rep. Kim said, “Since there are concerns about concentration in the metropolitan area, discussions should include supplementary measures to narrow the gap between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.” He especially emphasized, “Since the bill is named the Act on National Advanced Industries, the basic stance is that it should not be legislation for specific industries, specific companies, or specific regions.”

He also said that more coordination between ministries and consultation with local governments are necessary. He stated, “Expansion of the scope of preliminary feasibility study exemptions requires approval from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the expansion of university quotas in the metropolitan area faces opposition from local universities, so that will also be a contentious issue.” Rep. Kim added, “Although it is called the ‘Semiconductor Support Act,’ it should also consider support for various national advanced industries such as electric vehicles, batteries, and artificial intelligence (AI). We will carefully collect opinions to encourage active participation from local governments.”

Among the two bills submitted to the Industry, Trade, Small and Medium Venture Business Committee on the 19th, the K-Chips Act (Amendment to the Act on National Advanced Strategic Industries and two amendments to the Restriction of Special Taxation Act), the amendment to the National Advanced Strategic Industries Act is expected to be reviewed by the subcommittee within this month. The Industry Subcommittee reviewing the bill consists of 13 members: 7 from the Democratic Party (Subcommittee Chair Kim Han-jung, Kim Sung-hwan, Kim Hoe-jae, Song Ki-heon, Yang Yi-won-young, Lee Yong-bin, Jeong Il-young), 5 from the People Power Party (Koo Ja-geun, Park Soo-young, Yang Geum-hee, Lee In-seon, Lee Cheol-gyu), and 1 independent (Yang Hyang-ja).

The amendment to the National Advanced Strategic Industries Act submitted to the Industry Committee includes ▲ granting authority to the National Advanced Strategic Industries Committee to establish specialized complexes ▲ expanding the scope of preliminary feasibility study exemptions ▲ increasing university quotas in advanced fields ▲ expediting permits and approvals and shortening processing periods.

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