The government has unveiled three strategies to further strengthen South Korea’s semiconductor industry.  

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Paik Un-gyu disclosed the plans on Monday when he inspected a SK Hynix plant in Icheon and a Samsung Electronics plant in Pyeongtaek. 

Paik made the visit to convey words of encouragement to semiconductor manufacturers and to discuss responses to address the challenge posed by rival countries. 

Paik said the first strategy entails providing government support for the development of next-generation materials, while the second strategy aims to foster system semiconductors as new growth engines for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To that end, the energy ministry will, together with the science ministry, inject one-and-a-half trillion won into the semiconductor sector over the next ten years. 

As for the last strategy, Paik said the government will seek to make South Korea into a hub of global semiconductor makers by attracting leading international firms, including U.S. company Air Products and Dutch business ASML, to set up their production lines in South Korea.