Lee Jae-yong's 'Unprecedented' Bold Move... Decision on US Semiconductor Investment

Samsung Electronics Selects Taylor City as Site for New Foundry Plant
Largest Investment Finalized in US Business Trip in 5 Years
Texas to Provide $1 Billion Tax Incentives Over 20 Years

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is departing through the Gimpo Airport Business Aviation Center in Gangseo-gu on the 14th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Heungsun Kim and Hyunui Cho] Samsung Electronics has finalized Taylor City, Texas, as the site for its new foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) plant in the United States, investing $17 billion (approximately 20 trillion KRW). Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics concluded the largest-ever U.S. investment during his first business trip to the U.S. in five years since 2016. This marks the beginning of Vice Chairman Lee's 'New Samsung' vision to pioneer "a future no one has ever ventured into," surpassing the technological 'super-gap.'

On the 23rd (local time), Samsung Electronics held a press conference at the Texas Governor's Mansion with Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Ki-nam of Samsung Electronics, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Senator John Cornyn, and other officials to announce this decision.

The new foundry line, to be built on a 5 million square meter (1.5 million pyeong) site in Taylor City, is scheduled to begin construction in the first half of next year (January to June) and aims to start mass production in the second half of 2024 (July to December). The expected investment in construction and equipment is $17 billion, marking the largest investment by Samsung Electronics in the U.S. to date.

Advanced foundry processes will be applied at this site. It will produce cutting-edge system semiconductors for various fields such as 5G, high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and the metaverse (extended virtual world). The employment creation effect, including direct and indirect jobs, is estimated at around 10,000. Samsung Electronics expects to receive tax incentives worth approximately $1 billion (about 1.19 trillion KRW) from local governments including Taylor City over the next 20 years.

Samsung Electronics finalized the site just six months after announcing plans to build a new foundry plant in the U.S. at the 'Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable' event held in Washington D.C. last May. Vice Chairman Lee broke the deadlock in site selection, which had been slow, and led the process to completion.

Earlier, on the 18th and 19th in Washington D.C., Vice Chairman Lee met consecutively with key White House aides such as Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, and Brian Deese, Chair of the U.S. National Economic Council, as well as members of the federal Congress, discussing Samsung's role in resolving global semiconductor supply chain issues. He is also reported to have urged active support from both the executive and legislative branches for the semiconductor industry.

During this trip, Vice Chairman Lee also met partners in Samsung's future focus areas including bio, telecommunications, ICT, and AI to discuss cooperation plans, and will return to Korea in the afternoon of the same day.

The White House welcomed the announcement, stating, "We welcome Samsung Electronics' decision to build a new semiconductor plant in Texas to protect the U.S. supply chain and create good jobs." Governor Abbott also emphasized, "Samsung Electronics' new semiconductor production line will provide numerous opportunities for residents of central Texas and will play an important role in Texas standing out in the semiconductor industry."

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics plans to utilize the new Taylor City plant along with the Pyeongtaek Line 3 (P3), scheduled for completion in the second half of next year, as key semiconductor production bases. Through the completion of P3, Samsung aims to increase domestic employment and strengthen collaboration with fabless (semiconductor design) companies and material, parts, and equipment firms. Industry insiders expect the total investment for P3 to exceed 50 trillion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.