South Korea set to unveil $7.3bn semiconductor aid programme
The country's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has stated that the government will launch a huge support package financed by private and public financial institutions.
The Minister met with major domestic companies last week and issued a statement that said Seoul “is preparing an assistance package of more than 10 trillion won (USD 7.3 billion) to support fabless, chips materials and manufacturing equipment in all areas of chips industry."
This is the latest move by the government to actively support Korean firms at a time when the US is moving away from Chinese suppliers and looking for friendlier partners.
South Korea is already dominant in memory chips, and is home to two of the world’s largest memory chip makers: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. But it clearly wants to compete just as strongly in other areas.
The government is doing a lot to help. Last year, it revealed a plan to create a USD 472bn ‘semiconductor mega cluster’. It will span a new 21 million square metre industrial zone within the southern Gyeonggi Province, the expansion of the existing 21 fabrication facilities in the area, along with the creation of fabless plants in Pangyo and the construction of foundry and memory chip production facilities in Hwaseong, Yongin, Icheon, and Pyeongtaek.
Samsung Electronics will invest 500 trillion in nine new fabs while SK Hynix will allocate 122 trillion won to build four new fabs.
