Experts in the Korean academic community have proposed establishing a "Korean Semiconductor Manufacturing Company" (KSMC) in Korea, imitating the successful mode of TSMC. The idea is to foster a complete semiconductor ecosystem to address the multiple challenges facing the Korean semiconductor industry and gain a more competitive position in the global semiconductor market.
The plan was proposed at a seminar held by the NAEK on December 18. The goal is to create a balanced ecosystem between foundries and fabless semiconductor companies through diversified process technologies, and to support the balanced development of large, medium and small semiconductor companies. The professor of Sungkyunkwan University emphasized that the semiconductor industry in Taiwan maintains a balanced ecosystem, which has enabled more than 250 IC design companies to flourish. "The establishment of TSMC with government support will play a similar role in Korea."
The South Korean government has previously planned to build the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing base by 2030, with the goal of establishing the world's largest semiconductor industry cluster in Gyeonggi Province by 2047, with a total investment of up to 622 trillion won (approximately US$473 billion). Build 16 chip factories. The cluster will focus on producing cutting-edge products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and 2-nanometer or smaller system semiconductors, and plans to capture 10% of the global system semiconductor market by 2030. Korean experts also estimate that by 2045, an investment of 20 trillion won in Korea Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will generate economic benefits of 300 trillion won. At the same time, the plan is expected to create more than 3 million jobs and significantly enhance South Korea's share and competitiveness in the global semiconductor market.
The executive director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association stressed the urgency of investment and called on the Korean government to provide 300 trillion won by 2047 through subsidies and tax incentives to maintain Korea's semiconductor leadership. At the same time, he used TSMC engineers as an example to call for greater flexibility in Korea's 52-hour work week policy to improve work efficiency and cope with high-intensity R&D and production needs. In contrast, TSMC's R&D center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And AI chip giant Nvidia has no restrictions on working hours.
SK Hynix CEO Kuo Luzheng also pointed out that the government should shift from "trickle-down" support for large companies to direct investment in smaller materials, component and equipment companies to create a "fountain effect" that strengthens R&D competitiveness and expands the overall ecosystem.