This is the age of a war for technological supremacy. Along with the artificial intelligence revolution, semiconductors have become strategic assets that shape not only economic growth but national security. That is why it is no exaggeration to call the semiconductor cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, a new economic heart that will carry South Korea's future.
Just as a heart needs blood, chip fabrication plants need a stable supply of electricity to run. Fabs operate around the clock and cannot tolerate even a one-second fluctuation in voltage or frequency, making them a prime example of an industry that depends on high-quality power. Once the Yongin cluster is fully operational, it will require about 15 gigawatts of electricity — far more than one-third of current power demand in the greater Seoul area. To secure the electricity needed for the initial phase, the government plans to build liquefied natural gas plants with about 4 gigawatts of capacity inside the cluster, and over the longer term to bring in power generated on the east coast and in the central region through large-scale transmission lines.
Whether the plants will be built as planned remains uncertain, however, because environmental groups have filed lawsuits seeking to revoke the LNG generation permits and are campaigning against the project in the name of decarbonization, residents' health and 100% renewable energy use, or RE100. Examine those arguments one by one and scientific grounds are hard to find. What stands out instead is a good deal of uncompromising obstruction that appeals to irrational emotion.
First, casting the Yongin LNG plants as a step backward from carbon neutrality is a distortion that ignores the broader context of the energy transition. The Yongin project replaces six aging 500-megawatt coal-fired units — Dangjin No. 3 and 4, Hadong No. 5 and 6, and Taean No. 5 and 6 — totaling 3 gigawatts, with LNG generation. Because coal is being replaced by LNG, a lower-carbon fuel, total carbon dioxide emissions will in fact decline.
Second, claims of health damage are a textbook case of irresponsibility that stokes fear while turning a blind eye to the state of environmental technology. Unlike coal, LNG plants emit no sulfur oxides at all, and strict air pollution controls apply, cutting emissions of pollutants such as particulates and nitrogen oxides by more than 90% compared with coal generation. In fact, the latest pollution control technology is startlingly good. The Isogo plant in Yokohama, Japan, is a case in point. The Isogo coal-fired plant sits less than 7 kilometers in a straight line from Minato Mirai, Yokohama's busiest district. A large 1.2-gigawatt coal plant is operating inside a city of 3.7 million people. Isogo proves that even a coal plant can coexist with a major city when equipped with advanced environmental facilities. What matters is not the fuel used for generation but the technology and standards under which a plant is run.
Third, RE100 is already an outdated slogan in a fast-changing Big Tech market. In July, Meta formally withdrew from RE100. As it invested in large-scale gas generation to secure power for AI data centers, it became difficult to meet RE100's technical criteria. The decision reflects a judgment that solar and wind alone, with output that swings with the weather, cannot support AI data centers and chip plants that need round-the-clock baseload power. Faced with power demand exploding on the back of the AI revolution, Big Tech companies have begun weighing realistic combinations that deliver both stable electricity and decarbonization, rather than the single goal of 100% renewables. Google and Microsoft are also turning to nuclear power and natural gas to secure electricity in practical terms.
Blindly blocking construction of LNG plants while ignoring scientific facts and global trends amounts to nothing less than a degrowth obstruction that rejects South Korea's economic growth and technological civilization. The Yongin LNG plants are not merely generating facilities. They are the energy artery of a South Korean semiconductor industry standing at the front line of the contest for technological supremacy. Opposing the plants means telling chip factories to stop, and that is the height of irresponsibility — an indifference to being left behind in the technology race. Shouting for decarbonization while ignoring energy realities is no way to survive a war over technological supremacy. We must guard against a decarbonization drive that, like straightening a bull's horns and killing the bull, could lead to degrowth.
