Semiconductors (Photo: Bloomberg)
South Korea is preparing a program to provide more than 10 trillion won ($7.3 billion) to boost the country’s crucial semiconductor industry, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said.
Choi said at a meeting with local manufacturers of chip materials, parts and equipment on Friday that the government is considering ways to finance the program to support the industry, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Options include policy financing through the state-owned Korean Development Bank or a joint fund of public, private and policy financing. Details will be announced soon, said Choi, who is also the country’s deputy prime minister.
The move comes as the US administration pressures allies including South Korea to further tighten restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor technology. U.S. officials also want South Korea to restrict the flow of equipment and technologies for making high-end logic and memory chips to China, Bloomberg News reported.
Korea, the world’s largest memory chip maker, is seeking dominance by investing $470 billion in a semiconductor “mega cluster” outside Seoul as the US-China rivalry complicates supply chains. To support the plan, the government has proposed measures including tax incentives for investments.
First print: May 12, 2024 | 11:20 PM IST
