K-SEMICONDUCTOR BELT STRATEGY

[Anchor Lead]

The global competition for electronic chips is heating up. The Korean government has outlined its K-semiconductor belt strategy. It seeks to build the world's largest chip belt.

[Pkg]

This company designing semiconductor chips has seen its sales plunge recently. Despite the barrage of orders, it couldn't hire qualified semiconductor design researchers.

[Soundbite] Lee Seo-kyu(CEO of semiconductor design company) : "We have world-class semiconductor design technologies. But domestic universities produce fewer than 200 semiconductor designers with master's and doctorate degrees annually."

Some companies have a hard time finding OEM manufacturers to produce the products they design.

[Soundbite] Huh Youm(CEO of semiconductor design company) : "There are severe shortages of semiconductor chips around the world. Korean foundries should step up production as soon as possible."

Korea, a global leader in the area of memory chips, holds only 3 percent of the non-memory chip market, which accounts for 70 percent of the global semiconductor market.

[Soundbite] Kim Hyung-joon(Honorary Prof., Seoul Nat‘l Univ.) : "There are labor shortages. The first step is small venture firms. We should create new markets using creative ideas."

The government has unveiled its so-called K-semiconductor belt strategy. It has vowed to build a K-shaped chip belt in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Chungcheong-do provinces and provide an all-out support. The government is also promising large tax breaks. Taxes on R&D will be cut by up to 50 percent. For facility investment a 16-percent tax break will be provided. Special funding amounting to more than 1 trillion won will be offered for facility investments. The government will also provide support for basics including water and electricity, securing adequate supply. In doing so, the government seeks to encourage businesses to invest 510 trillion won in the next ten years and build the world's largest chip belt accommodating 208 firms.

[Soundbite] (Pres. Moon Jae-in) : "The government will work closely with businesses to make Korea a semiconductor superpower. I will provide all-out support to businesses."

The government plans to train 36,000 semiconductor professionals in the next 10 years.