President Yoon's Vision for a 'Smart Semiconductor City' Excites Yongin

'Semiconductor High-Tech and Highway Development' Gains Momentum... "Expecting Semiconductor Hub City"
Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, "Review Authority of Local Industrial Complexes Should Also Be Transferred to Special City"

President Yoon Suk-yeol promised full support for the activation of the semiconductor industry and the expansion of special city authorities in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, which is expected to strengthen the related projects that Yongin-si has been promoting. The 'Semiconductor Meister High School' and 'Semiconductor Highway' announced by President Yoon at the public discussion held at Yongin City Hall on the 25th are key projects that the city has been pushing forward.

At the public discussion held at Yongin City Hall on the 25th, Lee Sang-il, mayor of Yongin, is appealing to President Yoon Seok-yeol for the necessity of expanding transportation networks to foster the semiconductor industry.
[Photo by Yongin City]

Support Strengthened for Semiconductor Meister High School and Semiconductor Highway

On that day, President Yoon promised the prompt establishment of the Yongin Semiconductor Meister High School, saying, "We will create advanced facilities and top-tier educational programs at the Yongin Semiconductor Meister High School, which will be the first in the metropolitan area, to nurture core talents."

The establishment of the Semiconductor Meister High School is one of the key projects promoted since March last year by Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, and Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi-do Office of Education, who formed a regional industry-academia-research and public-private consultative body. The city has been negotiating with the Ministry of Education to establish a new high school with a capacity of 192 students and designate it as a Meister High School on the 21,000㎡ site of Baekam High School’s sports field, but it was excluded from the Meister High School designation announced by the Ministry of Education in July of that year.

The city plans to reapply immediately once the Ministry of Education announces the 19th Meister High School designation this year. Inside and outside the city, there is a mood of accepting the designation as a foregone conclusion following President Yoon’s remarks that day.

The planned site for the Meister High School is expected to change somewhat. The city and the education office are proceeding with administrative procedures to build two departments, Semiconductor Manufacturing and Semiconductor Equipment, with 24 classes and 384 students at the Namgok Elementary School branch, which was closed in March this year, instead of the Baekam High School sports field site. The target opening date is March 2026.

The 'Semiconductor Highway,' which the city has strongly requested to be expedited, has also come within sight. This is because the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced plans to expand railway and road networks, including the Semiconductor Highway, on the same day.

The Semiconductor Highway, promoted as a private investment project, is a 45 km highway network connecting Hwaseong, Yongin, and Anseong centered on the semiconductor mega cluster. This highway passes through Giheung, Yongin, where Samsung Electronics is located, and Cheoin-gu, Yongin, where SK Hynix’s production line will be established. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to promptly carry out related procedures once the appropriateness review of the private investment proposal is completed.

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin: "Extension of Gyeonggang Line is Absolutely Necessary... Preliminary Feasibility Study Exemption Needed for Expansion of National Road No. 45"

At the public discussion, Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, also proposed additional transportation network expansions for the success of the semiconductor belt. Mayor Lee emphasized, "Railway network expansion is an essential project for the successful establishment of the semiconductor national industrial complex and the semiconductor new town," and added, "The extension of the Gyeonggang Line and Seoul Subway Line 3 must be reflected in the government’s 5th National Railway Network Plan." He also requested the government’s active support to promptly realize the extension of the Bundang Line from Giheung Station to Osan University Station, which was included in the 4th National Railway Network Plan.

Regarding the expansion plan of National Road No. 45 announced by President Yoon that day, Mayor Lee requested a review for exemption from the preliminary feasibility study so that the project can be completed before the operation of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor production line in the I-dong and Namsa advanced semiconductor national industrial complexes. This road passes through the route connecting the semiconductor national industrial complex and the I-dong public housing district, which is planned to be developed as a new town.

Meanwhile, Mayor Lee argued that in addition to the basic plan for remodeling multi-family housing and the authority to approve ultra-high-rise buildings mentioned by President Yoon for the expansion of special city authorities, "the authority to review local industrial complexes held by Gyeonggi-do, a metropolitan local government, should also be transferred to special cities." Although cities with populations over 500,000 have the approval authority for local industrial complex plans, the review authority lies with the province, causing serious disruptions in industrial complex development.

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