Interior ministry clears new semiconductor agency to run Korea's chip megaproject

South Korea's interior ministry said Tuesday that the cabinet approved a new bureau-level semiconductor support organization and an India trade cooperation division, part of a reorganization of the industry ministry's structure that takes effect on Oct. 20.

The Semiconductor Innovation and Growth Support Group will carry out the statutory duties created by the Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness Reinforcement and Support Act and back major semiconductor projects, including the southwestern chip cluster. It comprises three divisions covering semiconductor policy planning, advanced chip competitiveness and supply chain support, and will be led by a director-general. The reorganization, which adds one bureau and 20 staff, also creates the advanced semiconductor division and the semiconductor ecosystem division.

The new India Trade Cooperation Division will serve as a dedicated channel for industrial and trade cooperation, identify new joint projects, support Korean firms entering the Indian market and expanding locally, and strengthen government-to-government communication on corporate difficulties.

India is the world's most populous market and has grown at around 7 percent in recent years, emerging as a global production and consumption hub. Industrial and trade ties widened after the April summit, with the creation of a Korea-India industrial cooperation committee, the resumption of talks to improve the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and cooperation on energy and resource security.

Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said semiconductors are a supply chain essential to artificial intelligence, automobiles and home appliances, and account for about 50 percent of South Korea's exports. "Amid intensifying competition for semiconductor supremacy, we will support corporate investment and technological innovation, including the megaproject, through the support group, and further solidify our semiconductor competitiveness," he said, adding that the India division would help translate the summit's cooperation momentum into tangible results for Korean companies.