Industry ministry reports cabinet approval of semiconductor support rules

The industry ministry said Tuesday that the cabinet approved draft implementing rules for the Special Act on Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness and Support, setting an operational framework for the government's semiconductor-support system.

The special act, enacted Feb. 10, delegated the operational details now specified in the decree.

The rules will take effect Aug. 11.

"With a legal foundation now established for a national semiconductor-industry support system, we will work closely with relevant ministries to swiftly advance the key policy tasks under the law," Kim Jeong-gwan, the industry minister, said.

A presidential special committee will be chaired by the president and include minister-level officials from relevant ministries, as well as experts from industry, academia and research institutions. It will review major policies and the semiconductor industry's basic and implementation plans.

Applicants for cluster designation must submit development plans stating the project's objectives and direction, its name, location and area, local semiconductor industry and infrastructure conditions, and arrangements for training and research bases. Semiconductor cluster designations will prioritize areas outside the capital region. National and local governments may cover between 50 percent and 100 percent of total project costs for building and operating infrastructure for designated clusters. They may fund all costs for redundancy facilities and infrastructure supporting supply-chain stability or industrial safety.

The rules also permit priority support for employment placement and retraining for semiconductor companies outside the capital region and regional skilled workers, and establish standards for designating institutions to train semiconductor specialists.

The decree also sets procedures for basic and implementation plans, semiconductor-industry statistics, the establishment and operation of a special account, and the delegation of administrative work.