Anchor: Amid a global chip shortage, South Korea announced plans to establish the world's largest semiconductor supply chain over the next ten years. Companies including Samsung and SK will invest 510 trillion won, or 451 billion U.S. dollars, in the project while the government will provide tax cuts and cheap loans. 
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: At a meeting held at Samsung Electronics on Thursday, the South Korean government announced plans to create the world's largest semiconductor supply chain, the so-called "K-Semiconductor Belt," by 2030.

Working together with the private sector, the government aims to establish infrastructure for semiconductor production, materials, parts and equipment, cutting-edge devices and fabless manufacturing.

The K-Semiconductor Belt will include the Gyeonggi provincial areas of Pangyo and Yongin.

World-leading companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will inject more than 510 trillion won over ten years, setting aside 41-point-eight trillion won for this year.

The government will provide a tax deduction of up to 50 percent for research and development, and up to 20 percent for facilities investment from the second half of this year until 2024.

More than one trillion won will be set aside for prime-rate loans, while the government and the public sector will cover water and part of the electricity supply at the manufacturing plants for the next decade.

If the project moves forward smoothly, officials expect the country's chip exports to more than double to 200 billion dollars by 2030 from last year's total of 99-point-two billion dollars, with a workforce of 270-thousand.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.