Seven sites named for strategic industrial complexes

The “high-tech strategic industries” — four key industrial sectors with high growth potential and national importance — include semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries, display panels and the bio industry.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, right, speaks during a meeting of the National High-Tech Strategic Industry Committee at the government complex in central Seoul on Thursday. Sitting on his left is Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. [NEWS1]

The government selected seven sites for new industrial complexes for chips, batteries and display panels, where companies will invest a combined 614 trillion won ($483 billion) by 2042.

The announcement was jointly made by the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, during a meeting of the National High-Tech Strategic Industry Committee. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, was held at the government complex in central Seoul on Thursday.

The “high-tech strategic industries” — four key industrial sectors with high growth potential and national importance — include semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries, display panels and the bio industry.

The government selected seven sites out of 21 candidates: Yongin and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi, and Gumi in North Gyeongsang, for semiconductors; Ulsan, Cheongju in North Chungcheong, Saemangeum in North Jeolla, and Pohang in North Gyeongsang for EV batteries; Cheonan and Asan in South Chungcheong for displays.

As the bio sector has been added to the list of key industries only in May, sites for bio-industry complexes will be announced in the latter half of the year, the ministry said.

Sites that are designated as strategic industrial complexes will be granted tax benefits and state subsidies, as well as infrastructure and administrative support from the government.

The Industry Ministry also announced sites for five new industrial complexes for materials, parts and equipment suppliers that day: Anseong in Gyeonggi for chip equipment; Osong in North Chungcheong for raw materials for biopharmaceutical products; Daegu for EV motors; Gwangju for automotive parts; and Busan for power semiconductors.

Of the designated sites for high-tech strategic industrial complexes, Pyeongtaek and Yongin have been promised to receive investments worth a combined 562 trillion won from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix by 2042. The goal is to retain the top spot in the memory chip sector while expanding the market share in system-on-chip to 10 percent.

In March, Samsung Electronics announced a 300-trillion-won investment to build a massive chip cluster in Yongin by 2024, dubbed “Korea Silicon Hills.” Samsung currently runs semiconductor complexes in Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong and Yongin, all located in Gyeonggi province.

SK hynix is also building a 120-trillion-won chip cluster in the city, which was first announced in 2019.

The 4.7-trillion-won Gumi complex will specialize in semiconductor materials, with the aim of becoming the second-biggest supplier of 12-inch wafers by 2026. SK siltron and LG Innotek are currently running production facilities in the city.

Cheonan and Asan have been jointly selected for an industrial complex specializing in next-generation displays, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and quantum dots (QD), with a 17.2-trillion-won investment program.

Samsung Display runs manufacturing plants in Cheonan and Asan.

For EV batteries, Saemangeum will house a cluster of production plants for battery precursors and battery recycling facilities.

Pohang — where Posco Future M announced a 1.7-trillion-won joint investment with Huayou Cobalt for a precursor and nickel processing facility, and EcoPro pledged 2 trillion won to build a cathode production plant — has been named an industrial complex for cathode materials.

Cheongju was selected for a battery cell complex. LG Energy Solution has a plant in Ochang, Cheongju, where it will begin the industry’s first mass-production of "4680" cylindrical batteries — batteries introduced by Tesla that are 46 millimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter and 80 millimeters in height — in 2024.

Ulsan was selected for the next-generation battery complex, such as solid-state batteries. Samsung SDI has a production base in the southeastern city.

The government also designated eight universities as educational institutes for semiconductor technology, including Seoul National University and Sungkyunkwan University, promising to provide subsidies worth a total of 54 billion won this year.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]