South Korea's Minister of Industry, Trade and Resources, Andegen said on Thursday that the government will actively support the semiconductor industry and accelerate the development of high-bandwidth memory and artificial intelligence chips to achieve the annual export target of 120 billion US dollars.
On the same day, Andegen visited the SK Hynix Semiconductor Industrial Park in Yongin City, 33 km south of Seoul, and said, “The government will support the timely establishment of relevant infrastructure to ensure competitive technology, promote exports, and strengthen the ecosystem in the fields of materials, components, equipment, and no wafer factories.”
SK Hynix is currently seeking to build four manufacturing plants in the region by 2046, with a budget of 120 trillion won (US$89.5 billion). The first plant will commence construction in the first quarter of 2025.
The company plans to mainly produce DRAM and NAND flash memory chips here, which will become SK Hynix's flagship production base.
During the visit, Andergen said that the government plans to develop a comprehensive strategy to allow Korean companies to take a leading position in the field of artificial intelligence. To this end, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources plans to establish a new department to support the development of industrial clusters within this month and introduce comprehensive support measures.
He also added that the government will develop plans to improve the competitiveness of chip devices within the first half of the year.
In recent months, South Korea's chip exports have been showing signs of recovery. In February, exports increased 66.7% year on year to reach US$9.94 billion, the fourth consecutive month of growth, and the biggest increase since October 2017, when it grew 69.6%.