On Wednesday, South Korea announced it would build the world’s largest chip center using $230 billion of private investment mostly from Samsung Electronics, as it aims an edge in the global industry.
The project is part of the South Korean government’s drive to invest heavily in six key technologies, including chips, displays, and batteries, all sites where the nation’s tech giants are well-established already.
South Korea will build the world’s largest scale system semiconductor cluster in the capital areas using massive private investments worth 300 trillion won.
Speed is important. The government will do its best to realize the cluster project.”
President Yoon Suk Yeol said at an economic policy meeting.
Separately, Samsung said in a statement sent to AFP that it intends to invest 300 trillion won in the cluster area over the next two decades.
South Korea’s Industry Ministry said the cluster plan is due to be completed by 2042. The vast majority of the world’s most developed microchips are made by just two firms: Samsung and Taiwan’s TSMC.
In May 2022, Samsung announced a huge 450 trillion won investment blueprint over the next five years aimed at making it a frontrunner in key sectors from semiconductors to biologics.
Ensuring supplies of advanced chips has become a critical matter globally, with the United States and China sealed in a vicious battle for control of the chips market.
The geopolitical importance of advanced chips was demonstrated last May when US President Joe Biden kicked off a South Korea tour by visiting Samsung’s sprawling Pyeongtaek chip plant. At the factory, Biden stressed the significance of maintaining technology partnerships among “close partners who do share our values”.
