Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Lee's southwestern semiconductor cluster draws corporate arm-twisting accusations
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok speaks during the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
PPP demands probe into site selection as criminal complaints filed against president, top aide
President Lee Jae Myung’s plan to establish a large-scale semiconductor cluster in the southwestern region of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province drew criticism, as the main opposition accused the government of improperly influencing private investment decisions and a civic group filed criminal complaints against Lee and his top policy aide.
The government officially unveiled the investment blueprint Monday as part of its "three megaprojects" initiative, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix expected to anchor the semiconductor cluster.
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) argued that the government had overstepped its role by steering corporate investment toward a specific region.
“We are not opposing the construction of semiconductor plants in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province,” PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig said during the party’s Supreme Council meeting Monday.
“What we are asking is whether the site was selected through a transparent, fair and objective process based on the companies’ own judgment.”
Jeong also criticized Lee’s explanation that the investment plan resulted from discussions and administrative guidance by government officials.
“That is effectively an admission that the plant location was decided through government intervention,” he said. “It amounts to a confession of state-led interference.”
PPP Supreme Council member Shin Dong-uk said the issue was not whether the investment should go to the southwestern region, but how the decision had been reached.
“People are asking why the project has to be located there, how it serves the country’s long-term industrial strategy, and whether the companies made the decision voluntarily,” Shin said.
“Although this is not yet our party’s official position, I believe the National Assembly should conduct a parliamentary investigation into why the government made this decision.”
Han Byung-do, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
The dispute also prompted legal action. A civic activist group, the People's Welfare Countermeasure Committee, filed criminal complaints Sunday against Lee and presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, accusing the two officials of abuse of authority, coercion, intimidation and violations of the Public Official Election Act and the Political Parties Act.
It alleged that the government pressured private companies Samsung Electronics and SK hynix into investing in the southwestern region.
“The government twisted the companies’ arms to force investment in a specific region,” the group said in a statement.
The group also argued that Lee’s recent meetings with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won were intended to pressure the companies, comparing the case to allegations surrounding the Mir and K-Sports foundations established during the Park Geun-hye administration.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea dismissed the accusations as an attempt to politicize a national industrial strategy.
Acting party leader and floor leader Han Byung-do said the opposition was reviving regional divisions instead of discussing the project’s economic merits.
“Even before the project was announced, the PPP began picking a fight by reviving outdated regionalism,” Han said. “It is distorting the facts with provocative terms such as ‘government intervention’ and ‘arm-twisting.’”
He added that the opposition was failing to understand how global companies make investment decisions and accused it of obstructing a key national growth initiative.
The presidential office also pushed back. Lee addressed the criticism directly during the briefing, saying the project was not about forcing companies to bear losses or risks in the name of national interest.
“The goal is to bring together the government's full capabilities so that companies can invest without taking a loss,” Lee said.
Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung also rejected claims that the government had pressured the companies.
“Would global corporations pursue projects that clearly hurt their own interests simply because the government twisted their arms?” Kang said during a YouTube interview Monday.
“The relationship between the government and businesses is no longer what it was in the 1970s and '80s. Companies invest where they believe future value is greatest.”
She said the semiconductor project should be viewed as part of global competition with Silicon Valley, Shenzhen and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), rather than as a contest among Korean regions.