Mayor Lee Sang-il of Yongin City: "Will be first basic local government to enact 'Semiconductor Industry Promotion and Support Ordinance'"

Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il has once again emphasized plans to transform the city into a semiconductor-centered hub, including establishing a semiconductor-related high school.

On the 18th, marking his 50th day in office, Mayor Lee held a non-face-to-face press briefing and announced his 8th term strategies for semiconductor industry promotion, including these initiatives.

The mayor stated that he will operate educational programs in phases through public-private cooperation for cultivating specialized semiconductor workforce, and will make efforts to establish a Meister high school and open related departments at universities within the city.

Similar content was mentioned at a meeting held last month (Suwon Ilbo, July 11).

To establish an institutional foundation for these initiatives, Mayor Lee announced plans to enact a so-called 'Semiconductor Industry Promotion and Support Ordinance' as the first basic local government in the nation to do so.

The mayor also unveiled plans for an 'L-shaped semiconductor belt' that would connect Yongin Platform City in the Bojeong-dong area of Giheung-gu with the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster to be built in Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu.

The mayor explained that the semiconductor belt will consist of Samsung Electronics' Giheung Campus, Lam Research and Surplus Global—world-class semiconductor equipment companies—and the 2nd Yongin Techno Valley, a specialized industrial complex for parts and materials suppliers.

The core of the semiconductor belt is to fill the north-south axis of western Yongin and the east-west axis of Yongin with semiconductor-related companies through the construction of a semiconductor expressway (private funding), expansion of National Route 57, and extension of the Gyeonggang Line.

The 73-kilometer semiconductor expressway connecting Bongdam-eup in Hwaseong through Yongin (Giheung-Namsa-Idong-Wonsam-Baekam-Iljuk) to Chungju is an important project related to the mayor's campaign promises.

The mayor said, "Expansion of transportation networks is essential for semiconductor industry promotion," and stated, "When the semiconductor expressway running east-west through Yongin is constructed, with the influx of semiconductor parts and materials companies around the expressway, Yongin's semiconductor competitiveness will improve significantly, and it will become a global semiconductor city that surpasses Silicon Valley in the United States."

The mayor also explained measures to designate Yongin Platform City as a specialized industrial complex for national advanced strategic industries and transform it into a research hub for semiconductor parts and materials companies.

The mayor said, "Platform City plans to create a dedicated semiconductor parts and materials cluster using 100,000 square meters of industrial facilities that will enable research and development as well as partial manufacturing," adding, "Since it is reflected in the recently announced strategy by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy to achieve semiconductor superpower status, the project can proceed without disruption."

The mayor also announced plans to establish a testbed at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster to be created in Wonsam-myeon where technologies developed by parts and materials companies can be tested for performance and effectiveness, as well as to organize the Yongin City Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Committee composed of experts in the semiconductor field.

In addition, the mayor explained preparations for the Gyeonggi Provincial General Sports Festival, an event being held for the first time in Yongin and the first in two years due to COVID-19.

The mayor said, "To ensure successful hosting of the games, all public sports facility expansion and maintenance work has been completed, and we are currently in the final stages of preparations for the opening ceremony," and expressed hopes that "the games, with 43,000 athletes participating across five events, will have significant effects in revitalizing the regional economy and enhancing the city's brand and image."

The mayor stated, "The absolute principle that will not change in my 8th term is communication with citizens," and added, "In the process of taking active administrative measures—not leaving problems stacked up and neglected but solving and resolving them one by one—I will seek much wisdom from citizens."

He continued, "Yongin Special City is a place of endless growth potential. It is a place where hope sprouts and dreams take root," and pledged, "I will create winds of great change, winds of development and advancement. I will walk that path together with our citizens."