Korea to set up world’s largest chip cluster in Seoul metropolitan area

A rendering of SK hynix‘s Semiconductor Cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province [Photo provided by Yongin City]

The South Korean government plans to attract 300 trillion won ($230 billion) in private investment by 2042 to create the world’s largest advanced system semiconductor cluster in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The plan envisions a semiconductor mega-cluster that connects existing production sites in Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek and Icheon in Gyeonggi Province. The envisioned cluster of system semiconductors will harbor five advanced chip fabrication facilities and around 150 materials, parts and fabless companies by 2042, according to the plan released during an economic policy meeting chaired by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Companies that enter the semiconductor cluster will receive benefits such as a reduction in land acquisition and property taxes, simplified licensing procedures and a 1.4 times increase in the building-to-land ratio compared to general industrial complexes, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

The new complex will be located near existing facilities run by the country’s chips giants Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., as well as a number of materials, components and equipment (MCE) companies, so that South Korea will be able to have the world’s largest mega cluster for semiconductors.

The biggest benefit is that MCE companies are located in close proximity to anchor companies, creating an ecosystem where technology and information are freely transferred and overseas technologies are incorporated, the ministry said.

The government also aims to nurture 10 fabless companies with annual sales of over 1 trillion won by extending support for their prototype production.

The government is also pushing to invest 3.2 trillion won by 2030 to develop technologies for next-generation semiconductors needed for power generation, vehicles and artificial intelligence, among other things.

In addition, the ministry aims to attract private-led investment worth 55 trillion won by 2026 in six high-tech industries: semiconductors, displays, batteries, biotech, future vehicles and robots.

Korea’s display production capacity will expand by more than 50 percent within three years with the goal of becoming the world’s top player in 2030, and the scale of electric vehicle production will increase by five times.