The World's Larges K-Semiconductor Belt to Be Established in the Greater Seoul and Chungcheong Area by 2030

[경향신문]
The world’s largest semiconductor supply chain, the K-Semiconductor Belt, will be built in the Seoul metropolitan area and the Chungcheong region by 2030. The latest plan includes all infrastructures for manufacturing semiconductors including plans to attract high-tech equipment companies and create a fabless center as well as construct more semiconductor manufacturing facilities and materials, parts and equipment factories. Businesses including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will invest over 510 trillion won over ten years and the government will provide overall financial support and infrastructure.

On May 13, the government held a K-Semiconductor Belt meeting at the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi and announced a strategy to become an overall semiconductor powerhouse including these details. The K-Semiconductor Belt, which is at the center of the strategy, will be composed of a west line spanning from Pangyo, Gyeonggi to Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, and Onyang in Chungcheongnam-do and two east lines running from Yongin, Gyeonggi to Icheon, Gyeonggi and Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do to form a K-pattern. A semiconductor cluster will be formed in Yongin and manufacturing facilities, high-tech equipment, packaging, fabless companies and research centers will newly be constructed or expanded in each region. A Korean-style fabless valley will be created in Pangyo, with a cluster of design centers for system semiconductors and AI-related semiconductors.

Private companies will invest over 510 trillion won by 2030 beginning with 41.8 trillion won this year. They will continue making the largest ever yearly investment in a single industry for ten years. At the meeting this day, businesses also announced investment plans. Samsung Electronics will build a foundry in Pyeongtaek and SK Hynix will build a materials, parts and equipment complex in Yongin.

The government will include “key strategic technology” in tax deductible items and deduct up to 50% (R&D costs). This is more than a 10% increase from the current deductions. The government will also increase financial support by creating a special fund for facilities investment for semiconductors of over a trillion won. The central and local governments and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) will actively resolve the issue of water and power lines, necessary in manufacturing semiconductors.

The government also announced plans to secure the foundation for next-generation growth including plans to train 36,000 workers over a decade by increasing the number of students majoring in semiconductors in university and by investing a total of 2.5 trillion won in the research and development of key technology, such as next-generation power, AI-related semiconductors, and high-tech sensors.