IANS | 23 May, 2024
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday that the country
will introduce a chip industry support package worth 26 trillion won ($19
billion) to bolster the critical industry amid intensifying global competition.
The comprehensive plan was unveiled during an interagency meeting on
economic issues, involving related ministries and financial regulators.
The package includes financial programmes, research and development
(R&D) initiatives and infrastructure support for chip manufacturers,
material suppliers and fabless companies specialising in chip design, reports
Yonhap news agency.
Central to this support package is the creation of a financial support
program worth 17 trillion won dedicated to infrastructure investment at the
state-run Korea Development Bank.
A 1 trillion-won chip industry fund will be created to assist fabless
and chip material companies and R&D infrastructure will be built for
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Yoon said the support package is designed to benefit the entire
semiconductor supply chain, with a particular focus on SMEs.
"If companies expand investment and earn more profits through tax
support, the public will benefit from more quality jobs, thereby revitalising
the economy and increasing tax revenue," Yoon said during the meeting held
at the presidential office.
To bolster the country's position in the semiconductor industry, Yoon
also called for the related ministries to come up with measures to support
system semiconductors and foundry businesses to help them close the gap with
global leaders.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix lead the world in memory chip
production, but their market share in the foundry business, where companies
manufacture chips designed by others, lags behind Taiwan's TSMC, the world's
largest contract chip maker.
--IANS