South Korea has unveiled its semiconductor plan – and it reads like an industrial-policy liberation move.
The country wants to shift from memory champion to AI-chip powerhouse. President Lee calls it a “new leap forward”.
Details
🏗️ Building for the chip future: By 2047, ten new chip fabs are set to be built. Target capacity: 7.9 million wafers per month. Funding comes mainly from industry, supported by fast-tracked deregulation and special legislation.
🧠 From memory to AI: 1.27 trillion won will go into AI chips. Billions more into next-gen memory such as NPUs and processing-in-memory technologies. South Korea no longer wants to be just the memory champion, but to develop its own AI processors.
🗺️ A new chip belt in the south: Gwangju is building a packaging cluster, Busan becomes the hub for power semiconductors, and Gumi focuses on materials and components. Together, they form a new industrial backbone designed to relieve Seoul strategically.
🧪 Talent pipeline and tech testbed: By 2030, ten specialized semiconductor graduate schools will be established. South Korea is also building a national test center for materials and machinery, set to launch in 2027.
🚨 Strategy against dependencies: The government wants to reduce the import share of defense-relevant semiconductors. Today, 99 percent come from abroad. In the future, local players are expected to have priority in security-critical infrastructure.
🥡 Takeaway
AI and chips must become pillars of the security and industrial policy of leading economies. South Korea shows how a coordinated triad of government, companies and research can set the course for technological sovereignty.
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