The creation of a national advanced strategic industry and specialized small and medium-sized business complex that will serve as the foundation for fostering and developing an ecosystem for cutting-edge industries such as semiconductors, electric vehicles, and secondary batteries is in full swing. After a fierce competition to attract customers, the seven national high-tech strategic industry specialized complexes and five small business specialized complexes were selected and announced, and local governments and related industries expressed their welcome.

■ Total private investment of 614 trillion won, government administration and tax support, etc.

Seven local governments were selected for the National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialized Complex Adjustment Project, which was fiercely contested by 21 local governments, and it is expected that a total of 614 trillion won in private investment will be made by 2042.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on the 20th that it plans to designate a total of seven national advanced strategic industry specialized complexes and support a total of 614 trillion won in private investment by 2042.

As for the designated specialized complexes, support will be provided for the semiconductor sector: △Yongin and Pyeongtaek with 562 trillion won, △Gumi with 4.7 trillion won, secondary batteries: △Cheongju with 4.2 trillion won, △Pohang with 12.1 trillion won, △Saemangeum with 6.4 trillion won, △Ulsan with 7.4 trillion won, and displays: △Cheonan and Asan with 17.2 trillion won.

In particular, it has been reported that the government is planning to designate the Yongin-Pyeongtaek region, where large-scale private investment is expected to take place, as a specialized complex to foster the world's largest semiconductor cluster, and to foster it in conjunction with the Icheon-Hwaseong production complex, which is currently in operation.

With a total private investment scale of 614 trillion won, the government will support the special complexes designated this time with a customized package including: △expedited processing of permits and licenses, △elimination of killer regulations, △tax and budget support, △easing of floor area ratio, and △infrastructure such as electricity and water supply so that private investment can be made in a timely manner.

The timeout system for permits and licenses has been introduced, which means that if a permit or license is not processed within 60 days after a request for expedited processing, it is considered processed. This system prevents delays due to administrative procedures. It is expected that the resulting problems will be minimized.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that a total of 21 regions applied for the specialized complex competition, and that they were selected after focusing on evaluating the presence of leading companies, new investment plans, potential for industrial ecosystem development, and balanced regional development.

In the second half of this year, we plan to establish a customized detailed development plan for each specialized complex and establish a ‘pan-departmental support council’ to provide one-stop support for industry-academia-research cooperation and resolution of corporate difficulties.

In addition, for the bio industry, which was newly designated as a national high-tech strategic industry in May, we plan to announce a specialized complex in the second half of this year and designate a specialized complex in the first half of next year.

Also, it was announced that 8 'National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialization Universities' will be selected and a total of 54 billion won will be provided within the year. The 8 National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialization Universities designated this time are Seoul National University (circuits and systems, devices and processes), Sungkyunkwan University (next-generation semiconductors), Myongji University-Hoseo University (materials, components and equipment, packaging) in the metropolitan area and Kyungpook National University (circuits and systems, devices and processes, materials, components and equipment) △Korea University Sejong Campus (advanced semiconductor process equipment) △Pusan National University (vehicle semiconductors-power semiconductors), △Chonbuk National University-Chonnam National University (next-generation mobility semiconductors), △Chungbuk National University-Chungnam National University-Hankyung University (system semiconductors, foundry semiconductors) outside the metropolitan area.

The budget for the eight designated specialized universities will be invested in ▲designing a convergence curriculum ▲securing excellent teachers ▲establishing a practical training and education environment, and it has been reported that the government plans to expand the designation of specialized universities to other advanced strategic industries in the future and foster practical and advanced manpower that meets the demands of the industrial field through linkage with the 'National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialized Graduate School' selected last May.
<br /> Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang emphasized, “The significance of this 3rd Advanced Strategic Industry Committee is that it designates specialized complexes and universities for advanced strategic industries to create an ultra-gap innovation ecosystem,” and announced a plan to “continuously pursue the ‘Three Strategies for Fostering Advanced Industries’ that the government has been promoting so far: △designating advanced strategic industries (semiconductors, displays, secondary batteries, bio), △expanding investment tax credits, △securing overwhelming manufacturing capabilities through designating 15 national industrial complexes, and △establishing a stable supply chain through specialized complexes for small, part, and equipment.”

■ Newly established specialized complex for small and medium-sized businesses in the semiconductor, future car, and bio sectors

Five additional specialized complexes have been designated in two years and six months since the first five specialized complexes were designated in February 2021.

At the 'Materials, Components, and Equipment Competitiveness Enhancement Committee' held on the 20th, it was announced that the designation target will be expanded to new industry fields such as semiconductors and future cars, and 5 additional specialized complexes will be designated: Busan and Anseong in Gyeonggi Province for semiconductors, Gwangju and Daegu in Jeollanam-do for future cars, and Osong in Chungcheongbuk-do for bio.

The development of this specialized complex is expected to involve new corporate investments of approximately KRW 6.7 trillion.

The semiconductor specialized complex promotes strengthening the domestic semiconductor ecosystem, including semiconductor equipment and power semiconductors. In Anseong City, Gyeonggi Province, 900 billion won will be invested by companies to strengthen the supply chain for semiconductor core process equipment, and in Busan Metropolitan City, 800 billion won will be invested to build a next-generation power semiconductor ecosystem to meet the demand for electric vehicles.

The future car specialized complex promotes self-sufficiency in core components for which high demand is expected to arise due to the transition to future cars such as autonomous driving and electric vehicles. It has been reported that the goal has been set to increase the electric vehicle motor self-sufficiency rate from 50% to 90%.

In addition, the bio-specialized complex aims to become self-sufficient in raw materials essential for the manufacturing process of pharmaceuticals such as vaccines, as the global biopharmaceutical market has grown significantly since COVID-19.

In order to create a specialized complex ecosystem, the government plans to support the attraction of companies in the complex through joint research and development (R&D), test beds, and commercialization between demand and supply companies, support for companies returning to Korea, and local investment. In addition, it plans to form a promotion team for each specialized complex to provide one-stop support for regulatory improvements and company suggestions.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang said, “We will activate the ‘Materials, Components and Equipment Supply Chain Center’ established last June and establish the ‘Industrial Supply Chain 3050 Policy’ in the second half of this year to promote systematic supply chain management.”

■ Semiconductor Industry Association welcomes designation of specialized complex

The semiconductor industry expressed its warm welcome to the designation of the 'National Advanced Strategic Industry and Small and Medium Business Specialized Complex' announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

On the 20th, the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) sent a congratulatory message to the local governments that were selected as semiconductor specialized complexes and welcomed the government's industrial ecosystem support policy.

Recently, the industry has been in a situation where it is absolutely necessary to strengthen competitiveness and achieve joint growth across the entire semiconductor ecosystem, including materials, parts, and equipment, due to rapid changes in the global competitive environment surrounding semiconductors.

The industry believes that the comprehensive industrial ecosystem support policy, including infrastructure, permits, R&D, and human resources through the designation of this specialized complex, will be a key factor in the national semiconductor industry.It is expected to be of great help in securing future competitiveness of the short-term strategic industry and small business industry.

KSIA stated, “The semiconductor industry will work to ensure that active investment can be made in specialized complexes with government support as the driving force, and through this, we will do our best to ensure that the semiconductor industry can contribute to the national economic development.” It also said, “We will actively support organic cooperation between the government and local governments to quickly foster specialized complexes.”

He also said, “I ask for the government and local governments’ continued interest and support so that new investments and operations by companies within the specialized complex can proceed smoothly.”