- South Korea unveiled a sweeping $470 billion plan for global semiconductor leadership.
- Public and private investment aims to construct extensive new facilities for domestic supply security.
- The initiative targets 10% global logic chip production market share by 2030, up from only 3%.
The South Korean government unveiled ambitious plans to invest 622 trillion won ($471 billion) and build the world’s largest chipmaking hub this week.
The public-private initiatives will involve leading Korean tech firms Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix establishing extensive new production facilities with the aim of global leadership in semiconductors.
Chip’s production goals
Spanning tech manufacturing hubs from Pyeongtaek to Yongin, the projected investment plans outline building 13 new chip plants and 3 R&D centers by 2047, adding to the country’s existing 21 fabs.
The cluster would become the planet’s most robust chipmaking operation, with capacity expected to reach 7.7 million wafer productions monthly in the next decade.
Global competition
The sweeping long-term roadmap represents a sharp increase from initial government investment targets announced last year. Officials have prioritized establishing self-sufficient domestic supply chains with semiconductors accounting for around 16% of South Korean exports.
As global rivals like Japan and Taiwan similarly pour government resources into competing chip sectors, Korea has committed to subsidizing tax incentives to attract private companies further.
Samsung’s outlined 500 trillion won alone in foundry investments for producing chips designed by other firms, complementing memory chip producer SK Hynix’s pledged 122 trillion won for new memory production facilities by 2047.
Beyond the largest tech corporations, the government expects further growth from small chip design and material companies benefitting from the scaled infrastructure.
Central to the 20-year national blueprint is bolstering Korea’s self-reliance and market share in global semiconductors, with aims to reach 10% logic chip production worldwide by 2030, up from 3% at present.
