South Korea unveils 5 trillion won chip fund, trade finance
South Korea just announced a massive 5 trillion won ($3.52 billion) fund to supercharge its chip industry: think promising chip materials, equipment, and support for fabless companies.
This is all part of President Lee Jae Myung's push to bring in more than $576 billion from tech giants like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, plus local governments and suppliers.
The government is also rolling out another 5 trillion won in trade finance to keep chip supply chains strong.
Seoul details 1 trillion-won chip plan
There is a 10-year plan worth 1 trillion won to help big companies and smaller suppliers team up across semiconductor development, testing and production.
The government wants to fast-track building new chip hubs (thanks to the proposed "Mega Special Zone Act"), relocate functions of a military air base in Gwangju by mid-2028 for a new semiconductor complex, with completion of relocation and temporary dispersal by the second half of 2028, and make sure Yongin city's huge upcoming chip project gets 14.7 gigawatts of electricity by 2041 using a combination of cogeneration facilities, LNG generation, and power from other regions.
They are even planning ahead for water needs using recycled wastewater.