[Hotterview] Han Jeong-min "The Debate Led by Lee Jun-seok Hinders Dongtan's Development"

Experience of Living 10 Years in Dongtan
Political Resolve During Japan's Semiconductor Material Export Restrictions
"Subway Attraction and Establishment of Semiconductor Specialized High School"

"I have lived in Dongtan for 10 years. I believe I know our region better than any other candidate."

Han Jeong-min, the People Power Party candidate for the Hwaseong-si Eul district in Gyeonggi Province, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 7th, "The biggest difference between me and other candidates is that I worked at Samsung Electronics, which has led the development of Dongtan." In fact, Gong Yeong-woon of the Democratic Party and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform New Party, who are running in Hwaseong-si Eul, have no ties to this area.

Born in 1984 in Andong, Gyeongbuk, Han joined Samsung Electronics in 2014 and worked as a researcher analyzing data in the semiconductor field. In 2019, Japan's decision to impose export restrictions on three key semiconductor materials (hydrofluoric acid, polyimide fluoride, photoresist, etc.) to Korea was the trigger for his decision to enter politics. He said, "Seeing the Moon Jae-in administration causing difficulties for companies by prioritizing political gains made me realize that just working as an engineer had its limits," adding, "Since then, I have expanded my career by participating in civic groups and policy competitions."

Based on his long experience mentoring within the company, Han founded and served as chairman of the social cooperative 'Cheongnyeon Seorap' for youth. In 2022, he participated in a youth policy contest hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and won the grand prize for a policy supporting 'paper furniture' when moving. He also received an excellent research award from the Youth Foundation last year for his study on youth living outside the metropolitan area.

Competing Against Former Ruling Party Leader and Hyundai Motor President

Han's opponents are formidable. The Democratic Party has appointed Gong Yeong-woon, whom they recruited as a talent, as their economic spokesperson, showing how much attention they are paying. Competition with Lee Jun-seok, former leader of the People Power Party, is also expected to be challenging.

However, Han was surprisingly calm. Regarding the debates stirred up by the 'big mouth' Lee, he said bluntly, "I have little interest." He criticized, "I am not interested in creating controversies. Such things rather hinder regional development." He added, "For regional development, it is advantageous to be a ruling party candidate who communicates well with the government. If you criticize just because someone belongs to a major party, I wonder how Lee, as a member of a minor party, can develop the region."

Han Jeong-min, the People Power Party candidate, is preparing lunch at an apartment senior center in Dongtan 1-dong, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do. Candidate Han stated, "The elders welcomed me warmly like a grandson, which gives me great strength," and added, "I will expand the provision of lunch at senior centers to seven days a week." (Source: Han Jeong-min candidate's Facebook)

Having witnessed Samsung Electronics driving Dongtan's development, Han emphasized, "For Hwaseong to develop, the Samsung Electronics Hwaseong Campus must do well." He said, "If the Hwaseong Campus's profits increase, that becomes corporate tax revenue, securing resources for Hwaseong. That is how Dongtan's development will be achieved." To this end, he pledged to actively support the extension of the sunset clause on tax credits for semiconductor industry investments under the Restriction of Special Taxation Act and to establish punishment regulations related to industrial espionage.

As a local issue, he cited transportation measures such as the establishment of a new subway line. He said, "Traffic in Dongtan is really congested. There is heavy traffic when commuting to and from Seoul, so I want to attract a subway line." He added, "The GTX extension is currently being promoted, but it took 10 years until now. The extension of Line 1 is also planned but may be delayed, so I want to prevent such cases." At his candidacy announcement, Han stated, "I will utilize the designated educational internationalization special zone in Dongtan to establish an international school and a foreign language high school, and based on provisions related to nurturing specialized personnel for national advanced strategic industries, I will promote the establishment of a semiconductor specialized high school."

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