South Korea envisions K-semiconductor belt
Not wanting to lose its edge over other countries, South Korea intends to build a "K-semiconductor belt" that stretches dozens of kilometers south of Seoul. The goal here is to bring together fabless chip makers, chip making firms, and suppliers in a new hotspot for innovation.South Korea is a powerhouse in terms of memory chips, but is lagging in terms of logic chip production. The South Korean government will support its chip industry via tax breaks, lower interest rates, looser regulation, and infrastructure development. Furthermore, South Korea's plan also takes care of adequate water supply as well as reinforced power supply.
”South Korea is essentially beckoning global suppliers to come and work with its homegrown chipmakers so it can build an ecosystem on its soil rather than see them relocate to the U.S. and elsewhere,” said Kim Yang-paeng, semiconductor analyst at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade. “Broadening its investment to foundries and logic chips also guarantees that it has something to fall back on should anything go wrong with the memory chip industry that it’s dominant in.” -- Yahoo NewsOver the next decade, South Korea is expected to spend roughly $450 billion. Samsung and Hynix are major driving forces here. Samsung is ramping up its spending by 30 percent to $151 billion through 2030, while Hynix will invest $106 billion for four new plants in Yongin plus $97 billion to upgrade and expand existing facilities.