Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il: "Central Government Must Step Up Power and Water Supply for Samsung and SK Hynix Industrial Complexes"

On the 26th, Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il emphasized that for the successful operation of the Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex (Samsung Electronics) in Ichon and Namsa-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin City, and the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster General Industrial Complex (SK Hynix) in Wonsam-myeon, the central government must ensure timely supply of power and water without disruption.

The mayor attended the "9th Good City Forum 2026" held at the Ferrum Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, and delivered a keynote address titled "The Future Drawn by Yongin Renaissance 2.0."

The mayor stated, "The Samsung Electronics National Industrial Complex site development was delayed by more than six months due to obstruction from some ruling factions and transmission opposition groups," and added, "Under these circumstances, Samsung Electronics has accelerated the operation of some of its first fab from the second half of 2030 to the second half of 2029, so from now on, site development must be expedited so that fab construction can commence in the second half of next year."

He further emphasized, "Power for fabs 1 and 2 is planned to be supplied through an LNG (liquefied natural gas) power plant built within the national industrial complex, so the central government must ensure this proceeds smoothly. Regarding water supply from Paldang Dam, some nearby cities are opposing the laying of pipelines, so the central government and Gyeonggi Province must resolve this issue."

The mayor also stated, "Regarding the construction of Samsung Electronics fabs 3, 4, 5, and 6, and SK Hynix fabs 3 and 4, the central government must promptly resolve transmission issues by persuading groups opposing transmission to Yongin so that these fabs can operate as planned and on an accelerated schedule. Additionally, the central government must ensure that the second-phase water supply from Paldang Dam needed for the operation of these six fabs proceeds without any disruption to the plan."

The mayor stated, "Yongin Special City has successfully advocated for exemption from preliminary feasibility studies, expanded capital gains tax reduction for relocated residents, expanded replacement land compensation, and provision of residential sites for relocated residents and exclusive industrial complexes for relocated companies during the previous administration for the successful development of the Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex," and added, "Now the current government must play an active role in resolving remaining issues such as power and water supply."

The mayor noted, "On March 15, 2023, a plan was announced to establish national industrial complexes in 15 cities nationwide, including Yongin, but to date, only Yongin has received approval for an industrial complex plan," and advised, "The national industrial complex candidate sites in the other 14 cities are also very important for this nation and regional economies, so the current government must pay active attention to them."

The mayor pointed out, "After the announcement of the national industrial complex plan in March 2023 and before the current government took office in December 2024, the previous administration held 7 inter-agency promotion meetings under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to review the national industrial complex project. However, the current government has not held a single review meeting in over one year and three months since taking office," and urged, "The government must review the implementation status not only in Yongin but also in the other 14 regions, listen to local opinions, and make active efforts to provide support."

The mayor stated, "The reason Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix lead the world as top 1 or 2 competitors is because there are a large number of SME and parts suppliers positioned around these anchor companies," and explained, "When SME and parts supplier companies are located within about an hour's drive from the anchor company fab, if issues arise in semiconductor production, they can be addressed immediately. This shows that ecosystem competitiveness also stems from proximity."

Mayor Lee Sang-il said, "Yongin's semiconductor project is directly linked to Yongin's future, but it is also a matter for the Republic of Korea, so I hope everyone will join forces to ensure these projects succeed," and added, "Yongin City will provide sufficient administrative support needed, and will actively cooperate with the central government and related organizations such as the Korea Land and Housing Corporation."