The ruling and opposition parties traded barbs on the 27th, a weekend, over investment plans in the Honam region by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The People Power Party attacked that Honam lacks the optimal infrastructure needed to build a semiconductor cluster and questioned whether the two semiconductor corporations are seeking to invest because of government pressure. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea countered that it was "based on the corporations' voluntary decision," condemning the opposition's claim as "black propaganda for political strife."
People Power Party senior spokesperson Park Seong-hun criticized President Lee Jae-myung for writing on X (formerly Twitter) that "Honam has as much water as Yeongnam or the greater Seoul area for building semiconductor facilities," calling it "a unilateral declaration unsupported by scientific evidence."
Park said, "According to media reports, they are even said to be reviewing ways to use water from agricultural reservoirs," adding, "The semiconductor industry, a national hundred-year plan, must not become a tool for political propaganda."
Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min of the same party also criticized, saying, "Why does the president talk only about water without saying a word about power, workforce, sites, and materials, parts, and equipment?" He added, "If the semiconductor plant of Samjeonnix (Samsung Electronics and SK hynix), which every region desperately wants to attract, goes to Honam without a convincing rational basis or a fair competition to attract it, the political and economic fallout will be hard to handle."
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon also wrote on Facebook, "Whose idea is it to build a semiconductor plant in a region where chronic water shortages are expected?" and argued, "We must stop the Lee Jae-myung administration from cutting open the goose that lays the golden eggs."
The previous day, People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said, "With the president and the presidential office taking the lead and grabbing by the collar while the Democratic Party of Korea eggs them on from behind, a mega semiconductor infrastructure project worth 400 trillion won is about to suddenly drop into one region," emphasizing, "It is a clear abuse of power for the presidential office to designate a specific region and demand investment—without any legal basis, not with government finances but with private corporations' capital—for an astronomical sum exceeding half of Korea's annual budget."
Ahn also escalated his criticism by referring to the Park Geun-hye administration's state capture scandal, saying, "It is no exaggeration to say that the behavior of President Lee and Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom is that of flagrant offenders of abuse of power."
In response, Democratic Party of Korea floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee said in a commentary, "The review by the two corporations to build a semiconductor cluster in Honam is a result of responding to the government's policy stance aimed at overcoming the crisis of regional extinction and enhancing the competitiveness of national high-tech industries," adding, "The president did not twist the corporations' arms to force investment."
Regarding Ahn's claim, the party criticized that he "reduced the grave task of balanced national development to a tool for political strife" and warned it would immediately file a complaint on charges including spreading false information and defamation.
Lee said, "It is a preposterous stretch and makes no sense to compare normal state affairs that must be carried out for the country's future with the illegal coercion of foundation contributions during the past state capture scandal," adding, "Spewing crude words and indulging in black propaganda is an irresponsible illegal act that even dampens corporations' investment will, causing serious harm to the national economy and the community."