Lee Sang-il, mayor of Yongin Special City, on the 12th said a poll that found "more than half of voters nationwide agreed to transfer the Yongin semiconductor cluster to a place with abundant power" was "a planned survey to undermine Yongin semiconductors going forward."
Posting on social media on the day, the mayor said, "Looking at how the questionnaire was structured, it was an irrational survey that lured respondents to follow a predetermined conclusion," and stated accordingly.
Earlier, Climate Politics Wind released on the 9th the results of a poll conducted of 17,000 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide ahead of the June local elections. According to the results, among respondents, 53.5% agreed to "transfer the semiconductor industrial complex to a place with abundant power." In particular, 46.5% of Gyeonggi voters also responded that they agreed to the transfer.
First, the mayor argued that the party that commissioned the poll was not fair. The mayor said, "Local Energy Lab functions as the secretariat of the Korea Network for Energy Transition," and noted, "Some organizations within the Korea Network for Energy Transition were found to be part of the 'National Action (National Action for Reconsideration of the Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex and Opposition to Transmission Line Construction),' which on Mar. 4 in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, demanded a full reconsideration of the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex."
The mayor also pointed out the questionnaire structure of the poll in the institutional sector. The mayor said, "Without providing accurate information related to the creation of the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex, it posed questions that led to answers tailored to their liking."
For example, the questionnaire includes the question, "Recently, surrounding the installation of transmission towers to supply power to the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex in Gyeonggi Province, conflicts have erupted in various places such as Gangwon, Honam, Chungnam, and Anseong in Gyeonggi. Have you heard of or do you know about this?" The mayor argues this gives a negative impression of the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex.
In addition, the mayor said the question, "The conflict over installing transmission towers to supply power to the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex is about how to supply the large-scale power needed by the semiconductor industrial complex. Which of the following two options do you think is better to solve this problem?" was a leading question. Options presented in the poll at the time were "bring in power from other regions and push ahead with the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex as planned," and "push to transfer the semiconductor industrial complex to a region with abundant power," among others.
The mayor said, "It made it seem as if only power matters in semiconductor production, and did not even mention the 'ecosystem' and 'agglomeration effects,'" and added it was "a 'bad survey' designed to make respondents who do not know semiconductors well follow where they are led and answer accordingly."
The mayor said, "(The poll) was a trick to create favorable public opinion for forces trying to block the progress of the Yongin semiconductor project," and called it "a survey that violates the basics and fundamentals by luring respondents to follow a predetermined conclusion."