Science ministry unveils shared compound semiconductor fab plan
South Korea's science ministry will use a new investment-style R&D model to set up a joint public-private special purpose company that secures compound semiconductor technology and runs a shared fabrication facility.
The science ministry said Thursday it will build a shared fabrication facility for compound semiconductors through a special purpose company jointly funded by the government and private investors, part of a push to localize defense chips.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the plan at an industry-academia-research forum at the L Tower in Seoul, attended by about 120 officials from more than 60 defense system companies, materials, device and equipment makers, research institutes and universities. The Korea Nanotechnology Institute will host the initiative.
The shared fab will run on an investment-style research and development model that the government introduces next year, under which public and private money is pooled into a special purpose company that both acquires technology and operates the manufacturing infrastructure.
Seoul laid the policy groundwork in July, when the government announced a joint strategy across relevant ministries on localizing defense semiconductors and building an industrial ecosystem.
Compound semiconductors are well suited to high-power and high-frequency applications, making them key components in advanced weapons such as radar and electronic warfare systems as well as in future strategic industries including 6G communications and aerospace.
The head of the ministry's research and development policy office framed homegrown compound semiconductor technology and a domestic manufacturing base as a core task for national security and future industrial competitiveness. The official said the ministry will link defense semiconductor localization demand with research support from public fabs and the manufacturing infrastructure of the shared fab, creating an ecosystem in which development results carry through to private-sector mass production.
After the forum, the ministry plans to continue gathering views from industry, academia and research sites and to flesh out an implementation plan for the shared fab in consultation with related ministries.
What this article is based on
Every fact in this article can be checked against the primary documents below.
- Government과학기술정보통신부 과학기술 보도자료· Ministry of Science and ICT· accessed Oct. 31, 2026
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