Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho (R) visits Samsung Electronics Co.’s chip plant in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, on April 7, 2023, in this photo released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
SEOUL, July 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea announced a decision Thursday to designate seven “specialized complexes” for the semiconductor, display and secondary battery industries in major cities across the country to offer a package of incentives for private investment in a bid to nurture the advanced sectors as a future growth engine.
The country also decided to designate five additional specialized complexes dedicated to materials, parts and equipment for key industries, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Under the plan, the government will make two specialized complexes for the chip industry — one in Yongin and Pyeongtaek regions and the other in Gumi; four zones for secondary batteries in Cheongju, Pohang, Saemangeum and Ulsan; and the remainder in the Cheonan and Asan areas for the display sector.
The venues are where private companies vowed to make a combined investment of 614 trillion won (US$485.1 billion) by around 2026.
Of them, the envisioned complex in the cities of Yongin and Pyeongtaek, both south of Seoul, is meant to support 56.2 billion won of investment in memory and system semiconductors by Samsung Electronics Co., SK hynix Inc. and other chipmakers by 2042.
The complex in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, is expected to become a major base for core semiconductor components, such as silicon wafer and substrates.
SK Siltron Co., LG Innotek Co. and other firms plan to make an investment worth 4.7 trillion won combined by 2026, according to the ministry.
By establishing four complexes for the battery industry, the country aims to create a value chain from minerals processing to supplying cathode materials, producing cells and recycling, and to develop next-generation batteries.
Major battery makers, including LG Energy Solution Ltd., LG Chem Ltd., SK On Co., and POSCO Future M Co., operate or plan to build their production facilities and business centers in the four aforementioned regions by investing 30 trillion won there combined by around 2027, according to the ministry.
This photo, taken on March 15, 2023, shows Namsa Village in Yongin, 50 kilometers south of Seoul. The government declared the area a national industrial complex for semiconductor companies as part of efforts to make Yongin and its neighboring cities the world’s largest chip cluster. (Yonhap)
The designation of Cheonan and Asan, central South Korea, as a special zone for the display sector came as Samsung Display Co. and other smaller firms run major facilities with advanced infrastructure and plan to pour some 17.2 trillion won there by 2026, it added.
“The government will extend tailored, comprehensive supportive measures for companies in the complexes by removing tricky regulations and offering tax cuts and infrastructure and administrative support,” the ministry said in a release.
A total of 21 cities and provincial regions applied for the establishment of specialized complexes, and the seven were chosen in consideration of corporate investment plans and the balanced national development, the ministry said.
The government also decided to designate eight universities across the country, including Seoul National University in Seoul and Pusan National University in the southern port city of Busan, as leading institutions to nurture talent for the advanced, strategic industries and provide them with state funds of 54 billion won in 2023 alone.
In a separate meeting, the government announced a decision to designate an additional five special complexes for materials, equipment and components regarding semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, and future vehicles in Gwangju, Daegu, Osong, Busan and Anseong to extend various incentives for corporate investment and activities.
The five zones are where related companies have vowed to make a fresh corporate investment of 6.7 trillion, the ministry said.
In February 2021, the government first designated five specialized industry complexes in Yongin, Cheongju and other regions across the country.
(Yonhap)
