Lee Jong-ho "Hope Arises to Resolve Toxic Clauses in US Semiconductor Act"

Revealed in a Meeting with Reporters on the 9th

Lee Jong-ho, Minister of Science and ICT, evaluated on the 9th that there is "hope" regarding the resolution of the toxic clauses in the U.S. Semiconductor Support Act, the biggest issue facing Korea's semiconductor industry, as a result of the Korea-U.S. summit.

Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT. Photo by 자료

Minister Lee made this remark in response to reporters before the announcement event of the semiconductor super-gap technology acquisition roadmap held at a hotel in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, in the afternoon. When asked, "Despite President Yoon Seok-yeol's visit to the U.S., hasn't the issue been resolved? What are the government's plans going forward?" he initially said, "That issue should be answered by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy." However, he immediately added, "Since companies have concerns, we plan to actively pursue this going forward," and explained, "Such an opportunity was given through this Korea-U.S. summit. It is not definitive to say it has been canceled." Minister Lee further stated, "We will continue to pursue this with hope."

Last month, President Yoon made a state visit to the U.S., held a summit with President Joe Biden, and delivered a joint address to the U.S. Senate. However, the issues of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) restrictions on electric vehicle subsidies and the toxic clauses in the Semiconductor Support Act, such as excess profit and trade secret sharing, which were the biggest concerns of the domestic business community, were not resolved. Nevertheless, President Biden left room for possibility after the summit by saying, "It does not harm anyone. It is a win-win." President Yoon also explained, "President Biden said he would spare no special support and consideration for Korean companies' investments and business activities."

Minister Lee also explained the role of the public-private consultative body launched that day, saying, "There were issues such as insufficient support and manpower shortages since the 2010s, but recently recovery is underway," and added, "It will be an opportunity for the public and private sectors to think together about the future of semiconductors." He continued, "From the perspectives of devices, design, and processes, we will listen to many opinions from academia, research institutes, and industry, and support the path we should take with a mid- to long-term view," and added, "Especially in the semiconductor field, it is a time when nurturing talent at various levels is important and outstanding talent is greatly needed, so we will look into how to cultivate excellent talent well and efficiently and quickly develop future technologies." Minister Lee also said, "From a corporate standpoint, we need to be first movers, not fast followers, and cooperation and communication among industry, academia, and research institutes are necessary," and added, "It will be a place to examine whether there are aspects where companies can contribute nationally."

Regarding the question, "Most companies are making investments and doing well, so what is the significance?" he said, "Looking at the amount, that might be the case," but emphasized, "Companies' money is mostly spent on building infrastructure and focuses on things that can be mass-produced in the near future. The government can explore various fields comprehensively in the mid- to long-term and there are limits to manpower training by companies."

Meanwhile, at the event, Minister Lee announced a roadmap to focus on research and development of 45 technologies in three major areas?materials, design, and processes?to secure semiconductor super-gap and new-gap technologies over the next 10 years.

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