[Advanced Industry Development] '300 Trillion Won' World's Largest System Semiconductor Complex to Be Established in Yongin

The world's largest system semiconductor cluster, with an investment of 300 trillion KRW, will be established in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced in the 'National Advanced Industry Promotion Strategy' that an advanced system semiconductor cluster worth 300 trillion KRW will be created by 2042. Based on large-scale new investments from private companies such as Samsung Electronics, the semiconductor cluster will be the largest single complex in the world. Five advanced semiconductor manufacturing fabs focused on system semiconductors will be built on a 7.1 million square meter (2.15 million pyeong) site. The government plans to attract up to 150 excellent domestic and international companies in the materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) and fabless (semiconductor design) sectors.

The new cluster can be connected to existing semiconductor production complexes in Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, and Icheon, as well as nearby SoBuJang companies and the fabless valley in Pangyo. This means that beyond system semiconductors, the world's largest 'semiconductor mega cluster' can be completed.

The mega cluster will encompass the entire semiconductor value chain, including memory semiconductors, where Korean companies have strengths, as well as foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing), fabless, and SoBuJang sectors. Within the cluster, joint technology development and demonstration projects will be conducted among companies, research institutes, and universities, and semiconductor production developed by domestic fabless companies will also take place. The government expects this to become a leading model of a global semiconductor cluster attracting top talent from home and abroad.

Large-scale core technology development for next-generation semiconductors will also be supported. Along with the establishment of the semiconductor cluster, the government plans to actively open 4-nanometer processes for AI semiconductors and legacy processes for automotive and home appliance semiconductors to support prototype production and mass production by excellent fabless companies, aiming to nurture 10 fabless companies with sales of 1 trillion KRW by 2035. Additionally, 3.2 trillion KRW will be invested by 2030 in developing core technologies for promising next-generation semiconductors such as power, automotive, and AI semiconductors. The government will also support purchase-conditional demand-linked projects between large corporations and fabless companies, with project sizes ranging from 5 billion to 8 billion KRW each.

Tax and workforce support plans were also announced. The government allocated 100 billion KRW this year for expanding tax credits on facility investments (through amendments to the Restriction of Special Taxation Act) and infrastructure support. Furthermore, efforts will be made to nurture 150,000 talents by 2031, including field experts, master's and doctoral-level professionals, and regional talents. To complement the limitations of fine processes, competitiveness in the advanced packaging field, which has become increasingly important, will be enhanced through private investments worth 24 trillion KRW in production and research bases and government technology development support amounting to 360 billion KRW.

The plan to create the world's largest system semiconductor cluster worth 300 trillion KRW comes amid strong protectionism and unprecedented investment support efforts by major countries such as the United States, Japan, and China to secure competitiveness in advanced industries. Semiconductors and other advanced industries are future growth engines and strategic assets that determine economic security. While Korea possesses world-class semiconductor manufacturing capabilities and technology, it has been evaluated that government support levels and regulatory conditions are still insufficient.