[Editor's Note] In the national high-tech strategic industry specialized complex competition, 15 local governments have flocked to the semiconductor industry. Now that the application period has ended, the review stage has begun, and the competition to attract semiconductor complexes has entered the real game. While numerous local governments have revealed their own concepts and ideas for attracting strategies and visions, we met with Anseong Mayor Kim Bo-ra and asked about Anseong City's semiconductor specialized complex attraction strategy and the background behind its promotion.
■ What prompted Anseong City to pursue the attraction of a semiconductor specialized complex?

Anseong City is located at the center of the K-semiconductor cluster in the metropolitan area and Chungcheong region, and major semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are located in the nearby cities of Pyeongtaek and Yongin.

Currently, Anseong is emerging as a transportation hub with large-scale industrial complexes being built due to increased development demand and new routes such as roads and railways passing through. Geographically, it is adjacent to Godeok Samsung Electronics and Wonsam SK Hynix, which are about 20 minutes away, and over 100 semiconductor small and medium-sized enterprises are concentrated here.

With these advantages, Anseong is expected to play an important role in the semiconductor industry ecosystem in Korea, and is making every effort to attract a semiconductor specialized complex, judging that it is the most suitable for the region's future food industry.

■ Other cities are also participating in the contest with various visions. What do you think is the difference between them?

Anseong is located at the center of the K-Semiconductor Belt, where major semiconductor companies such as Pyeongtaek, Yongin, and Icheon are located, and has good accessibility to the semiconductor cluster industry, and has a location environment with highly competitive industrial complex sale prices within Gyeonggi Province.

In particular, the Bogae-myeon Dongsin-ri General Industrial Complex, which has been applied for as a semiconductor specialized complex, is a semiconductor industrial area of 480,000 pyeong, adjacent to the Anseong city center and made up of flat land, making it easy to install social infrastructure. The industrial complex designation plan will be approved in the second half of this year, construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, and completion is scheduled for 2028. If designated as a semiconductor specialized complex, it will be able to reap visible effects as a national high-tech strategic industry, and it has the advantage of being able to create an additional 1 million pyeong of semiconductor industrial complex in the future.

In addition, three local universities, including Hankyung University, Doowon Institute of Technology, and Korea Polytechnic University Semiconductor Convergence Campus, have semiconductor-related departments, creating a good environment for fostering excellent professional manpower and supplying practical talent that can be immediately deployed to the field.

■ In order to achieve RE100 in the semiconductor industry, it is essential to secure eco-friendly energy. The response strategy is

We pondered over this part of the plan to foster a semiconductor specialized complex until the very end. Anseong is home to the 765kV Shinanseong substation, but power supply is not as easy as expected, and RE100 is known to be an unavoidable trend internationally.

First of all, the power supply for this semiconductor specialized complex will be provided through eco-friendly natural gas and renewable energy power supply by Korea Southern Power, and efforts will be made to introduce high-performance, cutting-edge facilities, strengthen monitoring, and minimize air pollution. In addition, a renewable energy power plant will be placed on public facility land within the industrial complex, and an eco-friendly, energy-sufficiency industrial complex will be created.

In addition, the industrial complex is being built as a 'smart green industrial complex' and applying ICT-based technologies from the development stage, and is planning to build a test bed for a smart industrial complex, including ▲factory energy management ▲infrastructure management ▲construction of a traffic safety platform. In addition, a plan is being made to establish a renewable energy base for the industrial complex, such as solar power generation on factory roofs, parking lots, and public buildings, to increase energy self-sufficiency.

■ Has there been any consideration given to strategies for linking up with other cities and provinces that have chipmakers and manufacturing bases?

In reality, it is not easy for local governments to connect with integrated semiconductor companies (IDMs) such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Connecting with neighboring local governments and the semiconductor industry is also not easy.

Anseong strategically decided to establish a semiconductor small and medium-sized business complex that can create synergy with nearby major industries, focusing on the geographic advantages of the semiconductor industry and the transportation environment, and applied for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's advanced strategic industry specialized complex competition. The plan for the specialized complex includes the establishment of a semiconductor human resources training center, establishment of a small business verification support center, and attraction of Meister high schools. The complex also plans to independently establish a cooperative system that can supply human resources to produce semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment and test manufactured products.

In the semiconductor industry, the ecosystem of small and medium-sized business partners centered around IDM is of utmost importance. For example, the memory foundries in Yongin, Pyeongtaek, Icheon, and Cheongju, the fabless in Pangyo, the packaging in Cheonan, Onyang, and Goesan, and the small and medium-sized business ecosystems in Yongin and Hwaseong are organically connected.

Accordingly, the Anseongdo Small and Medium Business Ecosystem will be formed and will play a role in completing the semiconductor ecosystem encompassing not only Gyeonggi-do but also South Chungcheong Province and North Chungcheong Province. In order to create an integrated semiconductor industrial complex, organic connections with companies are necessary, and I believe that linkages with related industries are essential. To this end, we will establish a semiconductor union belt in which companies, universities, and local governments jointly participate.

■ What is Anseong’s customized model for nurturing cutting-edge talent?

Anseong strategically planned to build a semiconductor sub-component specialized complex, and considered realistic corporate issues. This was a concern regarding the supply of human resources, and the construction of a semiconductor human resources training center was planned.

As a first step, Anseong City and three local universities, including Hankyung University, Doowon Institute of Technology, and Korea Polytechnic University Semiconductor Convergence Campus, signed an agreement to foster semiconductor talent. Based on this, we are investing approximately 30 billion won to build a semiconductor human resources training center with clean rooms, training rooms, and practice rooms on two floors above ground and one floor underground, and we aim to train 10,000 practical human resources who can be immediately deployed to semiconductor companies, targeting both current and prospective employees.

The educational program will be developed jointly by Anseong City and a working group of professors from three local universities through a survey of the needs of semiconductor companies in the region, and will present differentiated education aimed at fostering practical talent and providing a curriculum suited to the production site.

■ Please say a word to e4ds news readers.

Semiconductors are a leading industry driving our country's economy and a cutting-edge strategic industry representing Anseong's future food source.

Anseong has been designated as a semiconductor specialized complex, and is planning to intensively foster the semiconductor industry by establishing a semiconductor small and medium-sized industrial complex and a human resources training center. In the future, we will systematically support and cooperate with semiconductor powerhouses to provide citizens with various employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and provide young people of the future with opportunities for new challenges, and strive to become a central city of future industries in the Republic of Korea.

We hope you look forward to seeing the region develop rapidly as Anseong’s natural environment and historical culture come together with the semiconductor industry.

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