Listening to Concerns of Construction Industry Figures
Real Estate Measures Requested at Party-Government Council the Previous Day
Emphasizing the Passage of the Power Grid Expansion Act During Godeok Substation Visit
The leadership of the People Power Party (PPP) will hold an economic and livelihood meeting and visit industrial sites on the 5th. As the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) began discussions on additional supplementary budgets (supplementary budget), including giving up the 250,000 won livelihood support fund and the Semiconductor Special Act, the PPP's actions are interpreted as an effort to strengthen its leadership in livelihood policies as the ruling party.
Song Eon-seok, a PPP lawmaker and chairman of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee, held a "Policy Meeting for the Economic Re-acceleration of the Republic of Korea ? Construction Sector" at 10:30 a.m. at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. This meeting took place the day after the PPP requested the government to temporarily ease the application of the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) to resolve the unsold housing crisis in non-metropolitan areas during the party-government council, and they listened to industry stakeholders' requests immediately.
Lawmaker Song explained the purpose of the meeting, saying, "The construction industry, which accounts for about 15% of our country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and plays a pivotal role in economic growth, is facing great difficulties due to the construction recession and the increase in unsold houses. However, bills that could alleviate the burden on construction companies are being stalled in the National Assembly."
At the PPP meeting, attendees included Lawmaker Song, Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong, and PPP Planning and Finance Committee whip Park Soo-young. From the industry side, An Si-kwon, Executive Vice President of the Korea Construction Association; Lee Byung-hoon and Hwang In-seop, Managing Directors of DL E&C; Lee Eun-seok, Managing Director of Dongbu Construction; and Park Jong-su, CEO of HXD Hwaseong Development, participated.
Floor Leader Kwon said at the meeting, "Raw material prices and labor costs have risen, causing apartment prices to increase. While construction orders in Seoul and the metropolitan area have risen compared to last year, non-metropolitan areas remain in a stagnant state." He added, "Because of this, positive effects that should start from the construction industry and spread to other industries are not happening, which shows that people's livelihoods are in a very difficult situation."
He continued, "In the Planning and Finance Committee, tax support and deregulation are needed to support the construction industry. Although there was bipartisan agreement on tax support issues in the bill subcommittee, the bill has not been passed due to the attitude of the Democratic Party leadership. I hope the Democratic Party, which claims pragmatism and centrism, will not just speak but take action and lead efforts to overcome this difficult situation."
Following the construction industry meeting on this day, Lawmaker Song plans to hold meetings on the shipbuilding industry on the 6th and the aviation industry on the 7th.
Following the birth of Chat GPT at the end of 2022 and the recent global shock from China's Deep Seek, which has raised the need to catch up in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the PPP leadership is also concretizing moves to pass the National Core Power Grid Expansion Act to support this.
On the morning of the same day, Kwon Young-se, Chairman of the PPP Emergency Response Committee, and Kim Sang-hoon, Chairman of the Policy Committee, visited the Godeok Substation in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to explore ways to expand the power grid for the AI revolution. The Godeok Substation is responsible for supplying power to the Pyeongtaek semiconductor specialized complex.
At the on-site meeting, Chairman Kwon said, "I realized that without a safe and sufficient power infrastructure, it would be difficult to nurture future industries that will open a new 100 years for Korea. Not only the AI semiconductor ecosystem but also data centers that process big data, which is the foundation for AI technology development, require enormous amounts of power. This is exactly why the Power Grid Special Act must be urgently passed."
Chairman Kim also pointed out, "When Donald Trump took office as U.S. President, the United States immediately declared a national energy emergency. Considering that the U.S., which is much wealthier in terms of power than us, declared an emergency, I think Korea should also be alert and fully prepare for power demand and supply."
Earlier, Chairman Kim had requested the processing of the four future growth laws, including the National Core Power Grid Expansion Act, the Semiconductor Industry Special Act, the High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site Act, and the Offshore Wind Power Special Act, from Jin Sung-jun, Chairman of the DPK Policy Committee, during a working-level meeting of the ruling-opposition council the day before.
Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is moving to inspect the facilities at the 'On-site Visit and Meeting for Power Grid Expansion for the AI Revolution' held on the morning of the 5th at Godeok Substation in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News
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