Samsung invests $230 billion in South Korea to establish a semiconductor cluster

Though the semiconductor industry has recently faced a downturn, it has not dampened Samsung’s ambitious long-term plans. In 2021, Samsung announced that by 2030, the total investment for foundry expansion would reach $151.5 billion. According to a report released by Samsung earlier, approximately $36.049 billion was spent last year to expand semiconductor production facilities.

TechPowerup reports that Samsung plans to invest 300 trillion won (approximately $225.909 billion) by 2042 in Yongin, a city located within the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea, to create the world’s largest single integrated high-tech system semiconductor cluster. This includes the construction of five new foundries encompassing both contract manufacturing and memory production, linking existing semiconductor production bases in Giheung, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek.

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy stated that it would enhance the competitiveness of six core technologies, including semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries, autonomous vehicles, robotics, displays, and biotechnology, by expanding tax breaks and infrastructure construction. Approximately $420 billion is planned to be invested before 2026, with $260 billion allocated to the chip sector to support the development of the semiconductor industry.

Currently, countries worldwide are strengthening their domestic semiconductor industries to secure internal supply chains and remain competitive with other regions, and South Korea is no exception. Samsung has faced significant pressure in terms of revenue recently due to various factors such as declining global market demand, lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical issues. Particularly, its main memory business has suffered significant losses. Nonetheless, Samsung has chosen to increase its investments amid an economic downturn, consistent with its long-standing investment strategy.