The Korean government will provide low-interest loans and other support worth 8.8 trillion won (US$6.45 billion) for the semiconductor industry by next year in an effort to strengthen the competitiveness of the advanced sector, the finance ministry said Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the move is part of execution plans for the comprehensive support package worth 26 trillion won announced by President Yoon Suk Yeol in June for the country’s key industry amid intensifying global competition.

Under the plan, the government will provide 4.7 trillion won by 2025 through low-interest loans for chipmakers and funding programmes designed to assist fabless and chip material companies to boost the overall industry ecosystem, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The government will set aside an additional 1.7 trillion won of budget next year to conduct massive research and development projects to secure advanced technologies in chip clouding and packaging fields, among other things, as well
as to implement programmes to nurture talent.

Some 2.4 trillion won will be extended for infrastructure construction for the envisioned semiconductor cluster in the city of Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Source: Emirates News Agency