On May 13, South Korea announced its ambitious plan to spend about 510 trillion won (about 3 trillion yuan) in the next 10 years to build the world’s largest chip manufacturing base and compete with China and the United States for key technology dominance.
Samsung and SK Hynix will lead the investment of over RMB 3 trillion
The South Korean government stated that it plans to establish a “K-semiconductor Industrial Belt” tens of kilometers south of Seoul to bring together chip design, manufacturing, and supply companies.
According to a national blueprint prepared by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, by 2030, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will lead 153 companies and invest 510 trillion won (about 3 trillion yuan, 450 billion yuan) in semiconductor R&D and production. U.S. dollars) to protect South Korea’s most important semiconductor industry. Semiconductors are South Korea’s most important export items. It is estimated that exports will reach 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2030, doubling the current level.
Samsung’s co-chief executive Park Jung-ho stated at the press conference that by 2030, Samsung will increase spending by 30% to US$151 billion, while Hynix has pledged to invest US$97 billion to expand existing facilities. In addition, Hynix It also plans to invest US$106 billion to build four new factories in Yongin.
South Korea also hopes to train 36,000 chip experts between 2022 and 2031, contribute 1.5 trillion won to chip research and development, and start discussing legislation to help the semiconductor industry.
South Korea also intends to attract more foreign investment. Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML said it plans to spend 240 billion won to build a training center in Hwaseong, and American semiconductor company Lam Research Corp plans to double its production capacity in South Korea.
The South Korean government also stated that it will stimulate the domestic chip industry through measures such as tax cuts, lower loan interest rates, deregulation and strengthening of infrastructure. It will also ensure adequate water supply in the target area for the next 10 years and strengthen the power supply, both of which are critical to advanced chip manufacturing plants.
Samsung and SK Hynix announce to enter the field of logic chips to make up for shortcomings
Samsung and Hynix produce most of the world’s memory chips, but South Korea has been lagging behind in the production of logic chips, which is currently dominated by TSMC. Bloomberg data shows that South Korea produces 35.2% of the world’s storage chips, but only 8.2% of the world’s logic chips, and Taiwan, China, produces nearly 30% of the world’s logic chips. Samsung and Hynix have announced plans to enter the field of logic chips.