Korea to pump W260B into semiconductors

The Korean government will cooperate with private-sector companies to invest about 260 billion won ($230 million) in semiconductors through 2023.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Thursday that the money will go toward developing new semiconductor technology and training people to specialize in such technologies to improve Korea’s competitiveness in the sector.

The government and companies plan to spend 221 billion won to create semiconductors that are highly energy-efficient, light and fast, which they believe can be used in wearable devices and cars. Another 13 billion won will go toward training 2,880 people for four years in semiconductor technology related to automobiles.

System semiconductors, which are used to operate electronic systems, are one field that the government is focusing on developing. Korea exported $23.1 billion worth of system semiconductors in 2015. The government plans to expand it to $33 billion by 2020 and $47 billion by 2025.

In 2015, Korea accounted for 4.3 percent of the global market, and the goal is to raise that to 7 percent by 2020 and 10 percent by 2025.

“Semiconductors have become one of the most important sectors as the fourth industrial revolution is approaching, since the technologies can be used in various areas such as smart homes and smart mobility,” Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said Thursday. “We have the world’s best technology in semiconductors and will now focus on diversifying the technology to have the country move forward in the new industrial revolution.”

BY KIM YOUNG-NAM [kim.youngnam@joongang.co.kr]