North American Semiconductor and Electric Vehicle Companies Invest 1.6 Trillion KRW in Korea

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The government has attracted investments worth $1.15 billion from companies in the North American region in the semiconductor, electric vehicle, and secondary battery sectors.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it achieved this result at the 'North America Regional Investment Declaration Ceremony and Investor Roundtable' held on the 22nd (local time) at the JW Marriott Essex House Hotel in New York, USA, coinciding with President Yoon Seok-yeol's visit to the United States.

The event was attended by President Yoon, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang, KOTRA President Yoo Jung-yeol, and more than 20 representatives from advanced industry companies in the semiconductor, bio, secondary battery, and renewable energy sectors in the United States.

At the investment declaration ceremony, seven companies from the North American region submitted foreign investment declarations totaling $1.15 billion to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for projects such as establishing research and development (R&D) centers to build core supply chains related to national strategic technologies including semiconductors and secondary batteries.

Among semiconductor companies, Applied Materials, the world's number one semiconductor equipment company, decided to establish a semiconductor equipment R&D center in Korea.

U.S.-based DuPont plans to expand its semiconductor materials R&D center and production facilities for next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresists, chemical mechanical polishing pads, and packaging, while Entegris plans to expand its semiconductor materials R&D center for specialty gases, filters, and CMP slurry used in semiconductors.

The government evaluated that with the active expansion of investments in Korea by the world's four major semiconductor equipment companies, including Applied Materials, this will have a positive impact on strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem and supply chain in the future.

In the electric vehicle and battery sectors, U.S. auto parts company BorgWarner decided to expand its R&D center for electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle drive motors. Through this, Korea is expected to establish itself as BorgWarner's new product development hub, which will also help expand the domestic electric vehicle supply chain and transition the complete vehicle industry ecosystem.

Additionally, investments will be made in offshore wind power and logistics sectors that can contribute to carbon neutrality. Canadian renewable energy developer Northland Power will establish an offshore wind power complex in Namhae and strengthen cooperation in the renewable energy sector.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy evaluated this investment attraction by stating, "High-quality investments, such as R&D centers beyond simple manufacturing plants, are predominant, which is expected to contribute not only to the domestic transfer of advanced technologies but also to the training of highly skilled technical personnel."

Minister Lee Chang-yang said, "This investment is significant as it is high-quality investment closely related to policy tasks such as supply chain strengthening and carbon neutrality promotion," and added, "We will spare no policy support to ensure the successful execution of each company's investment plans."

Following the investment declaration ceremony, the 'Korea-North America Investor Roundtable' was held, attended by representatives of 13 global companies that have already invested in or are interested in investing in Korea.

These companies expressed their commitment to building complementary supply chains with Korean companies to contribute to the creation of a stable industrial ecosystem and requested expanded incentives for foreign investment related to advanced industries and R&D, as well as support for securing talent outside the metropolitan area.

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