Home > Business > Industry

Seoul court upholds approval process for Yongin semiconductor complex

Published: 15 Jan. 2026, 17:16

Construction takes place at the site of the Yongin semiconductor cluster in Cheoin District, Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 15, 2024. [YONHAP]

A Seoul court has ruled that the approval process for a massive semiconductor industrial complex planned in Yongin, Gyeonggi, finalized under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, was lawful.

The Seoul Administrative Court on Thursday ruled against the plaintiffs in a suit filed by activists from Solutions for Our Climate and 16 citizens seeking to invalidate the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s approval of the industrial complex plan.

Solutions for Our Climate and others filed the lawsuit in March 2025, arguing that the ministry’s approval of the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex project was illegal. Reasons included alleged problems with greenhouse gas emissions calculations and emissions-reduction plans required under the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Coping with Climate Crisis and related laws.

The Yongin project, confirmed in March 2023, aims to create a national industrial complex specializing in system semiconductors in the Namsa-eup area of Cheoin District, Yongin.

Samsung Electronics, which is set to move into the complex, has an investment plan of about 360 trillion won ($245 billion) to build six semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing facilities — plans that were finalized by the ministry in 2024.

The court said it was difficult to view the climate change impact assessment for the project as having defects in setting the target area or in procedures for collecting residents’ opinions, given the provisions of the carbon neutrality framework act that reflect both the broad impact of the climate crisis and the nature of the assessment system.

It also said that accurately predicting the profitability or efficiency of a project at the administrative planning stage is inherently limited due to scientific and technical constraints, adding that such judgments by administrative authorities should be respected unless they lack legitimacy or objectivity.

At the same time, the court took a broad view of the plaintiffs’ standing to sue, finding that the carbon neutrality framework act aims to protect the direct and specific interests of individual members of the public on issues related to responding to the climate crisis. It therefore recognized standing for all plaintiffs, including those who live outside the area covered by the environmental impact assessment.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]