Korea's first 8-inch power semiconductor fab will be built in the Busan Power Semiconductor Small Business Specialized Complex. The productivity of 8-inch power semiconductors is approximately 1.8 times higher than that of existing 6-inch products, which is the same level as that of global companies.

IQ Lab (CEO Kwon-Je Kim) broke ground on a dedicated power semiconductor fab at the Busan Power Semiconductor Small Business Specialized Complex on the 5th.

IQLAB is a company specializing in SiC power semiconductor design and technology development. It has grown more than 20 times over the past three years, but its growth has been limited due to not having its own factory.

This time, IQ Lab will invest a total of 100 billion won to build an 8-inch power semiconductor factory for electric vehicles and relocate its headquarters from the metropolitan area to Busan, seizing the opportunity to fully grow from a component design company to a comprehensive power semiconductor company.

Power semiconductors are semiconductors used for converting, transforming, stabilizing, distributing, and controlling electric power. They convert the electric power supplied from power sources and batteries into voltage and current levels appropriate for each device, such as automobiles and smartphones.

The global market for SiC power semiconductors, which are strong against high voltage and large currents and are used in electric vehicles, is dominated by the United States and Germany, and Korea relies on imports for more than 90% of the market.

The top five global companies account for 78% of the entire market (as of 2022), and in Korea, SK Powertech and DB HiTek have entered the market in the initial stages.

The Busan Specialized Complex, where the 8-inch factory will be built, was expected to see a total of KRW 800 billion in new investment in the power semiconductor sector when it was designated in July 2023, but after the designation, companies announced additional investments, increasing the total investment to KRW 1.2 trillion.

As investment inquiries from many companies are continuing, the actual investment scale is expected to increase further as the development of the specialized complex begins in earnest.