South Korea reveals new subsidy for Gyeonggi mega cluster
President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea has earmarked $372.86bn for the city of Yongin as the government starts the transformation of southern Gyeonggi into a hub for chip production.
In January the president unveiled a plan to invest around 622 trillion won (around USD 500 million) in the project. Gyeonggi currently houses 21 fabrication facilities, but the aim is to host 16 additional fabs by 2047, including fabless plants in Pangyo and foundry and memory chip production facilities in Hwaseong, Yongin, Icheon, and Pyeongtaek.
There will also be zones dedicated to the manufacture of materials, parts, and equipment across Anseong, and R&D centres based in Giheung and Suwon.
Now, the government has pledged 500 trillion won of its promised fund (USD 372.86 billion) to Yongin. The city has a population of 1.1 million, and is one of Korea's fastest-growing urban areas. Yongin was named a special city in January 2022 and is being developed as a representative global semiconductor production base and IT industry hub.
Yoon said that Yongin's population is expected to surpass 1.5 million once the semiconductor cluster is completed in 2047. Construction will start at the end of 2026.
Along with the funding, Yoon also promised to introduce legislation to expand the autonomy of the designated cities – Yongin, Suwon, Goyang and Changwon – to boost the development of construction, transportation, education and other infrastructure projects.
The South Korean government has sought help from the private sector for this project. Samsung Electronics will invest 500 trillion in nine new fabs while SK Hynix will allocate 122 trillion won to build four new fabs.
