Samsung Investment

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Samsung has announced plans to make a massive investment of 180 trillion won at home and abroad and hire 40-thousand new employees over the next three years. The announcement came just two days after Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon met with Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong.

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The investment plan Samsung announced on Wednesday covers 180 trillion won over the next 3 years. Samsung invested a record 60 trillion won last year. The new plan continues thislevel for 3 years. Of the 180 trillion won, 130 trillion will be invested at home, and 100 trillion won of that will first be injected into Samsung's key semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggido Province. This move likely reflects the tech giant's sense of urgency as Chinese chip makers are fast catching up and narrowing the gap with Samsung. Samsung will also invest some 25 trillion won in new growth sectors such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

[Soundbite] Jeong Jae-woong (Samsung Electronics) : "Samsung will carry out effective projects it excels in the most in efforts to revive the economy and establish the foundation for future growth."

Through this investment, Samsung seeks to generate in effect some 700-thousand jobs including 40-thousand workers it will hire directly. Samsung has also put out plans to expand cooperation and share its capabilities with medium and small sized players by increasing funds to support partner firms and academia. Samsung said its plan is focused on contributing to the Korean economy's sustainable growth and to support the government initiative on achieving innovative growth and job creation. Last month, President Moon Jae-in met with Samsung's de facto chief Lee Jae-yong in India and asked for the conglomerate's assistance in job creation. Three days ago, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon also met Lee while visiting Samsung's Pyeongtaek plant.