'Semiconductor Cluster' Yoon's Intention... Will It Lead to 'Wonju Semiconductor Cluster'?

Government, "Establishing a '300 Trillion' Semiconductor Cluster in the Seoul Metropolitan Area"
Gangwon Province, "Beginning to Materialize the Central Region Semiconductor Cluster Plan"

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced plans to establish a 'Greater Seoul Area Semiconductor Mega Cluster,' drawing attention to whether this will also boost the 'Wonju Semiconductor Cluster Development,' a key pledge of Gangwon Province's 8th local government administration.

On the 15th, President Yoon presided over the '14th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting' at the State Guest House, where he discussed a strategy to foster advanced industries by stating, "We will build a semiconductor mega cluster in the Greater Seoul Area."

This connects to the 'Semiconductor Industry Promotion Policy' that President Yoon revealed during his president-elect period in Wonju.

On May 4th last year, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol visited the Buron Industrial Complex in Wonju, Gangwon Province, and talked with attendees. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On May 4 last year, President Yoon visited the Buron General Industrial Complex in Wonju City and remarked, "It would be good for Wonju to be included in the Central Region Semiconductor Cluster and move forward together."

Gangwon Province stated on the 16th that regarding President Yoon's mention of establishing a 'Greater Seoul Area Semiconductor Mega Cluster,' "We judge that the concept of a Central Region Semiconductor Cluster has begun to take shape."

They added, "We can confirm the national will to promote the semiconductor industry and the possibility of new investments by semiconductor companies, and it confirms that the semiconductor industry, a national task, can succeed as a future new industry in Gangwon Province."

Although concerns have been raised about the concentration in the Greater Seoul Area affecting the promotion of the Wonju Semiconductor Cluster, the province, which is currently promoting a semiconductor education center and a shared semiconductor university, forecasts that the Greater Seoul Area will face difficulties expanding the semiconductor cluster due to limitations in additional supply of infrastructure such as land, water, and electricity.

The province plans to emphasize its abundant resources compared to Gyeonggi Province, including water resources and electricity from Soyanggang Dam, its human resource development system such as the semiconductor education center, and direct connections to the Greater Seoul Area semiconductor belt via the Yeongdong Expressway and KTX railway, aiming to attract semiconductor companies in the Greater Seoul Area to Wonju.

The province's strategy is to attract additional investments from semiconductor companies to Wonju and ultimately create a 'Central Region Semiconductor Mega Cluster' that connects the semiconductor belt in southern Gyeonggi Province to Wonju by fully dedicating efforts to fostering the semiconductor industry ecosystem.

A provincial official said, "Wonju is close to southern Gyeonggi cities such as Yongin and Icheon, and we are currently establishing plans to develop new sites for the semiconductor cluster," adding, "We believe that by leveraging advantages in supplying semiconductor infrastructure such as water and electricity, it is fully possible to secure competitiveness in the semiconductor industry."

Meanwhile, the government announced on the 15th that it will create a national advanced semiconductor industrial complex in Yongin, attracting private investments worth 300 trillion won in the Greater Seoul Area by 2042 to establish the world's largest advanced system semiconductor cluster.

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