"For the purpose of political divide-and-rule, Honam is managed as an agricultural city while water resources are neglected"
On SNS posts that followed: "In a pig's eyes, only pigs are seen"…Blue House "Regret over false claims on regional investment"
Speaking President Lee Jae-myung
President Lee Jae-myung speaks at a "Future New Security Innovation Enterprise Fostering Strategy" meeting held at the Blue House on the 26th. 2026.6.26 [Blue House Correspondent Photographer Corps] xyz@yna.co.kr
On the 27th, President Lee Jae-myung directly countered concerns raised in some quarters about possible water shortages in relation to the so-called Samsung Electronics' Honam semiconductor investment announcement, saying "Honam also has sufficient water like Yeongnam or the Seoul metropolitan area."
On X (formerly Twitter), the president quoted a related article and stated, "It has been reviewed that if we have the management system necessary for cutting-edge city development and properly allocate and manage water resources, it would be possible to supply 1 million tons of industrial water per day."
Regarding water resources in Honam, the president pointed out, "For the political purpose of divide-and-rule for decades, Honam was managed at the level of an agricultural city, and water resources were neglected to just meet the needs for agricultural water supply."
He emphasized, "Samsung and SK Hynix are not foolish enough to plan to establish mega-scale factories in areas with insufficient water, which is essential for semiconductor production, without any review," and "The government also does not recommend building factories in areas without water."
The president added, "Leaving aside political positions, I ask for your understanding and cooperation in regional balanced development and national policies of coexistence that affect the fate of Korea."
Kim Yong-beom, the Blue House's Policy Director, also wrote on Facebook that day, "Dam reserves, unused water amounts that have been over-allocated for decades, large agricultural weirs and storage facilities, and reclaimed wastewater—though scattered, the water resource pool is sufficient."
Meanwhile, 4 minutes after posting the article, the president posted on SNS, saying, "In a minister's eyes, only ministers are seen, and in a pig's eyes, only pigs are seen," and "People often assume that others will think and act the way I do."
This statement is primarily interpreted as an attempt to counter criticism from the opposition, including the People Power Party, that the government is pushing ahead with the construction of a semiconductor factory in Honam for political reasons.
At the same time, some in political circles analyzed that this may be aimed at pro-government commentator Yu Si-min, who criticized the day before in relation to internal factional conflicts, saying, "What the people who eagerly protected and supported this president in his path to becoming president wanted was an expansion, but the president seems to have tried to do a reconstruction."
In response, a Blue House official said, "It is principled content," and "It expressed regret about speculation and false claims regarding corporate concentrated investment in local areas."
President Lee Jae-myung X Post
water@yna.co.kr
