Gyeonggi Province Clears Hurdle to Exclude Capital Region, Accelerating Semiconductor Cluster Designation

Gyeonggi Province is accelerating its efforts to secure semiconductor cluster designation following the removal of the "exclusion of the capital region" clause from the application requirements for semiconductor cluster creation plans under the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting Competitiveness of the Semiconductor Industry, which took effect on the 11th.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 19th, six proposals submitted by the province were fully or partially reflected in the revised enforcement decree.

In particular, the application requirement for semiconductor cluster creation plans, which was included in the draft enforcement decree enacted in May of this year stating that the location "must be in an area outside the capital region," has been deleted.

As a result, major semiconductor hubs within the province have secured eligibility to apply for cluster designation.

In addition, the provisions favoring non-capital regions have been significantly eased.

The clause stating that "non-capital regions must be favored" when supporting resident companies and institutions in semiconductor clusters was changed to "must be considered as a priority."

Furthermore, among the support requirements for overseas talent, the clause stating that "preferential measures can be provided for overseas talent employed or conducting research at semiconductor clusters or business sites located in areas outside the capital region" was softened to "preferential measures can be implemented on a priority basis."

Regarding the designation of specialized talent training institutions for the semiconductor industry, the clause stating that "efforts should be made to preferentially designate institutions located outside the capital region" was revised to "efforts should be made to designate them."

An official from Gyeonggi Province stated, "We evaluate that this enforcement decree minimizes potential disadvantages that semiconductor companies and institutions within the province could have faced regarding institutional support," adding, "We plan to accelerate follow-up responses, including the designation of the semiconductor cluster."

Gyeonggi Province, together with the Gyeonggi Research Institute, has initiated policy research for the "application for semiconductor cluster designation" to establish a basic framework and creation plan for a cluster encompassing major semiconductor industry hubs in the province.

Hyun Byung-cheon, Director General of Future Growth Industry Bureau at Gyeonggi Province, said, "The greatest achievement in the process of enacting this enforcement decree is that we removed the institutional barrier that could have excluded Gyeonggi Province from applying for semiconductor cluster designation," adding, "We will fully reflect the opinions of cities, counties, companies, and research institutions to formulate a cluster creation plan that enhances the competitiveness of Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor industry."

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.