Yongin Mayor Lee Sangil: "If Industrial Complex Approval Had Been Delayed, Yongin Semiconductor Mega Cluster Could Have Fallen Through"

On-site Executive Meeting Held at a Semiconductor Materials and Equipment Company
Moves to Block "Relocation to Other Regions" Proposals
Reviewing Progress on Cluster Development and Expansion of Transportation Infrastructure such as Roads and Railways

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province has launched an accelerated effort to establish a semiconductor ecosystem. This move aims to block ongoing proposals from some political circles to relocate the semiconductor cluster to other regions.

Lee Sangil, Mayor of Yongin (left), is checking the progress of the Mega Semiconductor Cluster at an on-site executive meeting held by SNS Tech, a tenant company in the Yongin Techno Valley General Industrial Complex located in Idong-eup, Cheoin-gu. Provided by Yongin City

According to Yongin City on January 20, Mayor Lee Sangil held an on-site executive meeting the previous day with about 30 senior city officials at SNS Tech, a tenant company in the Yongin Techno Valley General Industrial Complex located in Idong-eup, Cheoin-gu. During the meeting, he reviewed the status of infrastructure development for the smooth progress of the semiconductor industry project, including electricity, water supply, roads, and railways.

SNS Tech is the first company in Korea to successfully produce 'blank masks,' a semiconductor and display material previously monopolized by the United States and Japan.

At the meeting, Mayor Lee once again emphasized that Yongin, with its robust semiconductor ecosystem, is the ideal location for the mega semiconductor cluster, and he strongly criticized the arguments for relocating the cluster to other regions. He stated, "The claim that the cluster should be moved to an area without a semiconductor industry ecosystem must have sounded absurd to materials, parts, and equipment companies like SNS Tech, which decided to invest and settle in Yongin based on the city's semiconductor ecosystem."

Mayor Lee said, "It is very regrettable that there are ongoing attempts by political circles and some regions to disrupt the well-advanced semiconductor project," adding, "If the designation of the national industrial complex for advanced system semiconductors in the Idong and Namsa-eup area had been delayed, Yongin's semiconductor cluster project might have been derailed."

The advanced system semiconductor industrial complex was included among the 15 candidate sites designated by the government in March 2023, and in December 2024, it became the only site to receive official approval.

Mayor Lee also stressed that the mega semiconductor cluster plays an important role in building urban infrastructure. "If the government approval had still not been granted, not only would the lifting of the Songtan water source protection zone have been impossible, but major semiconductor transportation infrastructure projects could also have fallen through," he said.

Mayor Lee also addressed concerns raised by some political circles regarding power supply and the potential relocation of the semiconductor cluster to other regions. He stated, "Yongin was selected as the optimal site for the semiconductor industrial complex after considering factors such as power and water supply," emphasizing, "Now that the government has established plans for power and water supply to the semiconductor industrial complex, it is both the government's duty and responsibility to implement them swiftly."

Mayor Lee concluded, "Semiconductors are the future of Korea and a national strategic industry that must never be subject to experimentation," adding, "Rather than abruptly relocating the well-planned semiconductor industry from Yongin, fostering and creating new industries elsewhere is what truly aligns with the goal of balanced regional development."