South Korean President Orders Proactive Resource Securing for Mega-Projects

President Lee Jae-myung has directed government officials to proactively secure essential resources like electricity and water for the nation's "three mega-projects." Speaking at a joint public-private review meeting on these large-scale development initiatives, Lee stressed the need to accelerate administrative processes to prevent any hindrances to corporate investment.

"We must not wait for other procedures to conclude before securing power and water resources," Lee stated, urging a swift approach. He emphasized that the central government should anticipate and resolve potential obstacles, allowing businesses to focus on investment and on-site operations. The president specifically pointed to administrative delays as a critical bottleneck, asserting that such delays in investment execution must be absolutely avoided.

“

We must not wait for other procedures to conclude before securing power and water resources.

The government has outlined ambitious plans for these "three mega-projects," involving substantial investments across various regions. The Honam region is slated to receive 896 trillion won for projects including a semiconductor cluster, while the Chungcheong region will see 392 trillion won invested in areas like artificial intelligence data centers. The Yeongnam region is also set to receive 312 trillion won for physical AI initiatives.

“

administrative delays in investment execution must be absolutely avoided.

Lee cited the Yongin industrial complex as an example, noting it took six years from site confirmation to factory groundbreaking. While acknowledging this as relatively fast, he expressed dissatisfaction, stating it was not fast enough by his standards. He highlighted that compensation delays can extend timelines and urged measures to prevent such occurrences. The president also suggested streamlining environmental impact assessments, proposing that if an assessment has already been conducted for a similar area, its results should be utilized, or the process shortened if a new assessment is necessary. He further advocated for parallel processing of necessary procedures to save time, as long as they are not illegal.

Addressing potential land acquisition issues, Lee instructed officials to initiate both voluntary acquisition and compulsory expropriation procedures simultaneously to expedite the process. "In land acquisition, if there are delays in voluntary agreements, compulsory expropriation procedures begin later. Start voluntary acquisition and compulsory expropriation at the same time," he advised.

“

Start voluntary acquisition and compulsory expropriation at the same time.

Turning his attention to the political opposition, Lee urged them to cooperate or at least refrain from significant obstruction of projects aimed at creating new opportunities for citizens and young people. He criticized the opposition's stance, stating, "They argue for balance based on the premise that these projects are impossible, or claim they are mere events based on the premise that they are impossible." He questioned the appropriateness of such attitudes from public officials responsible for national affairs, urging them to choose one consistent position: either criticize based on impossibility or point out imbalances based on possibility.

“

They argue for balance based on the premise that these projects are impossible, or claim they are mere events based on the premise that they are impossible.