Lee Sangil: "Choo Mi-ae's 'Semiconductor Speed War' Remarks Are an Election Show Deceiving Yongin Citizens"

Sangil Lee, Yongin Mayoral Candidate, Strongly Criticizes Choo Mi-ae's "Deceptive Tactics"

"Blocked the Hanam Power Grid, Now Talks About Speed for Yongin's Semiconductor Project"

"If She Is Sincere, She Must Secure the President's Commitmen

Sangil Lee, candidate for Mayor of Yongin Special City, strongly criticized Choo Mi-ae, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Gyeonggi Province Governor, calling her semiconductor policy pledge “a deceptive scheme that misleads Yongin citizens.”

Sangil Lee, Candidate for Mayor of Yongin Special City. Provided by candidate Sangil Lee

Sangil Lee, Candidate for Mayor of Yongin Special City. Provided by candidate Sangil Lee

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On April 25, Mayor Lee used his social media to systematically refute Choo’s emphasis on “speed” and “driving force” during her visit on April 24 to the Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex (Samsung Electronics) and the SK hynix general industrial complex construction site. He directed sharp criticism at both the government and the candidate, arguing that their claims were unfounded.


Mayor Lee specifically targeted what he described as a “fatal contradiction” between Choo’s past actions and her current remarks. He reminded the public that when Choo served as a National Assembly member for Hanam, she opposed the expansion of the Dongseoul Substation, a core infrastructure for power supply in the Seoul metropolitan area, and even sponsored a special law that would make it impossible to expand the power grid without residents’ consent.


Lee continued, “It is an incredible contradiction for someone who blocked the route for electricity from the East Coast to reach Yongin to now come to Yongin and talk about power and water supply,” adding, “Remaining silent about the government’s delay in signing power supply agreements while letting anti-transmission organizations run rampant-yet still shouting about ‘driving force’-is to treat Yongin citizens as fools.”


Mayor Lee also expressed deep concern about the current delays in the Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex compared to the original plan. He raised suspicions about a “semiconductor decentralization theory” within the government, citing the fact that Prime Minister Kim Minseok, during a parliamentary interpellation session, pushed back the groundbreaking schedule for the complex from “the second half of this year” to “next year.”


After Prime Minister Kim’s response during the parliamentary session, Lee said he posed several questions, such as, “Explain in detail the reasons for the delay in breaking ground,” “Will you construct all six Samsung Electronics fabs as planned, or only part of them-please clarify,” and “Why is the government not demonstrating its intention, via agreement, to proceed with phase two of the power supply plan for the national industrial complex?” However, Lee stated that Prime Minister Kim remained completely silent.


He added, “Even the President, during the New Year’s press conference, only lamented the difficulties of building infrastructure and did not make clear the intention to implement the original plan. The public notice for the groundbreaking bid has completely stalled, and the public-private-government consultative body has been at a standstill for five months. On what basis, then, does candidate Choo guarantee ‘speed’?”


Screenshot of Facebook homepage of candidate Sangil Lee for Mayor of Yongin.

Screenshot of Facebook homepage of candidate Sangil Lee for Mayor of Yongin.

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Mayor Lee further heightened the sense of crisis by publicly revealing the critical design flaw in the semiconductor cluster. According to the current design, Samsung Electronics fabs 3-6 and SK hynix fabs 3 and 4 are supposed to share a single water supply pipeline from Paldang. Lee pointed out that if, due to political reasons, some Samsung fabs are relocated or scaled down to other regions, it would inevitably lead to the shutdown of SK hynix operations as well.


He continued, “There is growing suspicion among experts that, after the local elections, the government is signaling for some Samsung fabs to be moved elsewhere. The semiconductor industry is one where every second counts, but the government is causing delays while the candidate is putting on a show,” Lee criticized sharply.


Finally, Mayor Lee urged Choo to make a genuine political decision. He emphasized, “Yongin citizens are not fooled by candidate Choo’s lip service. If she truly cares about Yongin’s future, she must immediately demand that the President and government adhere to the original Yongin semiconductor plan and deliver a clear, decisive message-that is the candidate’s duty.”

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