[비즈한국] President Lee Jae-myung has directly addressed the controversy over "insufficient water supply for the Honam semiconductor cluster," which emerged ahead of the 'Republic of Korea Great Leap Forward 3 Major Projects Public Briefing' scheduled for the 29th. Kim Yong-beom, Chief of Staff for Policy at the Presidential Office, also repeatedly emphasized that securing industrial water in the southwest region is fully feasible. On the other hand, the People Power Party continued its criticism, claiming that the government is trying to compile a large-scale supplementary budget again under the pretext of semiconductors and AI.
On the 27th, President Lee shared a related article on X (formerly Twitter) and stated, "Honam has enough water, just like Yeongnam or the capital region," adding, "It has been reviewed that a daily supply of 1 million tons of industrial water is possible if we establish management systems and properly allocate and manage water resources as needed for the development of cutting-edge cities."
He continued, "Global top-tier semiconductor companies Samsung and Hynix are not foolish enough to plan large-scale factory construction in regions without sufficient water—a crucial element for semiconductor production—without prior review," and emphasized, "The government also does not encourage building factories in regions without water."
President Lee added, "For decades, for the political purpose of regional division, Honam was managed only as an agricultural city, and water resources were left neglected, restricted to meeting agricultural needs," and asked for "understanding and cooperation for balanced regional development and national mutual growth and coexistence, on which the fate of the Republic of Korea depends."
Four minutes after his first post, President Lee added, "To a Buddha, everyone looks like a Buddha, and to a pig, everyone looks like a pig," and "Often, people assume that others think and act just as they do themselves." The Presidential Office explained that this was "a principled expression of frustration regarding speculation and false claims related to corporate investment in regional areas."
This controversy arose as it became known that the government and the business sector are considering the creation of a second semiconductor cluster in the Honam region ahead of the national mega-project report to be presented by President Lee on the 29th. As massive amounts of industrial water are required for semiconductor manufacturing, the opposition party and some media outlets have raised doubts about the feasibility of securing water in the southwest region.
Kim Yong-beom, the Presidential Policy Chief, also took to Facebook on the same day to diffuse the controversy, stating, "It is time to seriously discuss the location and electricity/water supply system for the second semiconductor cluster at the national level."
Kim stated, "Claims outside of common sense that 'there is no water in the southwest region' are rampant," adding, "There are ample water resource pools, including surplus dam water, unused water quantities that were over-allocated for decades, large agricultural weirs and reservoir facilities, and even reclaimed sewage water." He continued, "It is being reviewed that securing 1 million tons of industrial water per day is possible if we utilize already verified water resource management techniques, such as raising dam heights and reallocating agricultural water."
He further emphasized, "The core issue is not whether there is water or not, but how we design national-level water management and infrastructure," adding, "If we redesign electricity and water supplies on a national scale, we will see many resources we hadn't been able to utilize before."
Conversely, the People Power Party criticized the government's AI investment plan and the potential pursuit of a supplementary budget.
Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, claimed in a commentary on the same day, "President Lee is hinting at a second supplementary budget, fueling a 'cash-spraying supplementary budget' led by AI," adding, "They are trying to consume even AI as another excuse for a supplementary budget."
Spokesperson Park said, "If a temporary excess in tax revenue is expected, it is common sense to use it to reduce national debt and restore fiscal health," and, "AI competitiveness is built through long-term investment and regulatory innovation, not one-time supplementary budgets."
As the government plans to unveil its blueprint for fostering national strategic industries, including semiconductors, gigawatt (GW)-level AI data centers, and physical AI/robots, at the public briefing on the 29th, the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over location and funding methods appears to be intensifying.