Kim Dong-yeon: "President Yoon's Idea of Supplying Power to Semiconductor Complex via Nuclear Plants?…An Ignorant Statement"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is doing a live broadcast on SNS.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon directly criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol's 622 trillion won investment in the world's largest semiconductor cluster in southern Gyeonggi, saying, "Do not mislead the public." He also criticized President Yoon's claim that nuclear power would provide stable electricity to the semiconductor complex as "ignorant talk," stating that nuclear power is not included in RE100 (100% renewable energy use).

Advanced countries such as Europe and the United States are significantly strengthening their moves to strictly limit imports of products not produced using renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Attending the Davos Forum, Governor Kim said on the 18th during a live broadcast on his social media service (SNS), "The 622 trillion won investment (claimed by President Yoon) is actually until 2047. It includes plans 23 to 24 years from now, past investments during the previous (Moon Jae-in) administration, and even Samsung's 300 trillion won investment in Yongin Namsa announced last year."

He continued, "What’s more interesting is that he said he would create the largest semiconductor mega cluster, but this seems to be a plagiarism of Gyeonggi Province’s policy," adding, "Last June, I made the exact same statement as one of Gyeonggi Province’s key tasks."

Earlier, on the 15th, President Yoon announced at the third public livelihood discussion held at Sungkyunkwan University Semiconductor Hall in Suwon under the theme "Semiconductor Industry Enriching People's Livelihoods," that "the world's largest semiconductor mega cluster is being established across southern Gyeonggi," with an expected investment scale of 622 trillion won.

Regarding President Yoon’s remark at the public livelihood discussion that "the semiconductor industry requires high-quality, stable power supply, and nuclear power is now essential," Governor Kim lamented, "Saying that nuclear power will cover the expansion of semiconductor lines is truly ignorant talk that shows a lack of understanding of global trends and this sector."

Furthermore, he expressed concern, saying, "Nuclear power is not included in RE100 or renewable energy," and "If we fail to achieve RE100 within the next few years, the export routes for our export items, including semiconductors, will be blocked."

Governor Kim added, "The Secretary-General of the International Energy Agency, whom I met today (at the Davos Forum’s climate change and renewable energy session), said, 'Korea is in a very good position with many excellent companies and good renewable energy technologies, but if Korea falls behind on this issue, it will be difficult to catch up again,'" and remarked, "It sounded like a warning about going backward on renewable energy and climate change response and questioning what the future plans are."

He went on, "Through so-called public livelihood discussions, there are suspicions that President Yoon is influencing the general election with political moves such as announcing tax cuts that only affect a few large corporations, easing reconstruction regulations, and excluding non-capital region unsold housing purchases from the housing count," and advised, "I hope he visits Gyeonggi Province not only during election times but also regularly, and instead of fake or recycled livelihood talks, genuinely discusses and proposes solutions to real livelihood issues."