Gwangju Mayor-Elect Protests Samsung's Semiconductor Water Project, Citing 50 Years of Sacrifice

Park Gwan-yeol, the mayor-elect of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, has launched an indefinite solo protest in front of Samsung Electronics' headquarters, vowing to halt the "Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor Integrated Water Supply Project." Scheduled to take office on July 1, Park argues that citizens elected him to confront powerful entities and protect the region.

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The citizens who chose me gave me their votes to hold firm and fight with dignity when conflict with immense power arises.

He highlighted that Gwangju residents have already endured over 50 years of disadvantages due to regulations protecting the Paldang Dam watershed, their primary water source. Park stated he will not stand by while the "semiconductor speed race" is used as a national justification to impose further sacrifices on them. The ambitious national project, managed by Korea Water Resources Corporation, involves constructing a 46.9 km pipeline to supply 1.07 million tons of industrial water daily to the Yongin semiconductor cluster by 2034, with an estimated cost of 2.155 trillion won.

Local residents and community leaders echo Park's concerns, feeling their voices have been ignored throughout the project's planning. Ahn Hyung-geun, head of the Namjong-myeon Village Leaders' Council, described the region as suffering deeply from overlapping regulations and facing a population crisis. He expressed shock that residents only recently learned about the pipeline's route through Gwangju, criticizing the lack of transparency and public consultation.

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We have endured disadvantages for over 50 years due to the designation of the Paldang watershed protection area. We are suffering to the bone, and areas like Namjong-myeon and Namhansanseong-myeon are facing a population crisis.

This situation contrasts sharply with agreements reached by neighboring municipalities with SK Hynix over water supply issues. Cities like Yeoju and Anseong secured significant benefits, including regulatory easing and the development of semiconductor-related industrial complexes, through negotiations. Gwangju, however, saw its previous administration's request for "just compensation for additional sacrifices" approved without substantial gains, leading to accusations of opaque administrative processes.

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Residents only learned a few days ago that the Paldang Dam water would pass through Gwangju to Yongin after it appeared on the agenda for the village leaders' council meeting. This is an act that completely ignores and disregards the citizens.

Park clarified that he does not oppose the semiconductor industry itself but insists on fair compensation and coexistence. He proposed Gwangju's development as an "AI Smart Semiconductor Hinterland City" with 30,000 housing units and broader industrial regulations. If these conditions are not met, he warned, his administration will use all available administrative and physical means to block the pipeline's construction through Gwangju.

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Gwangju City, with its excellent accessibility to the Yongin semiconductor cluster, must be developed as an 'AI Smart Semiconductor Hinterland City' of 30,000 units, and macro-level compensation from the government, such as easing the factory total volume control, must be accompanied.