The South Korean government harbors ambitious aspirations.

Once the dominant player in the Asian semiconductor industry, Japan has been surpassed by South Korea. Nowadays, Japan continually signals its intention to revitalize its semiconductor sector, as evidenced by recent news of "introducing the country's first EUV equipment."

Driven by the combined momentum of TSMC and Japanese semiconductor advancements, in mid-December, the President of South Korea and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands jointly announced the establishment of a "semiconductor alliance" between their two countries.

Moreover, the South Korean industry and academia have proposed a bold plan to create the "Korea Semiconductor Manufacturing Company" (KSMC), aiming to emulate Taiwan's TSMC and elevate the nation's semiconductor industry.

The establishment of KSMC is projected to involve an investment of $13.9 billion, which could generate economic benefits of $208.7 billion by 2045.

This ambitious plan was unveiled at a seminar hosted by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK) on December 18, 2024.

Taiwan has fostered a balanced ecosystem by focusing on traditional and medium-technology processes through companies like UMC and PSMC, while TSMC specializes in advanced manufacturing processes, enabling over 250 fabless companies to thrive naturally in Hsinchu.

South Korea hopes that KSMC can play a similar pivotal role—establishing an ecosystem within the country through KSMC to support the balanced growth of large, medium, and small semiconductor enterprises.

Ahn Ki-hyun from the Semiconductor Industry Association stressed the urgency of timely investment and advocated that the government provide $208.7 billion in support by 2047 to maintain South Korea's leading position in the global semiconductor market.

Furthermore, Ahn Ki-hyun called for greater flexibility in South Korea's 52-hour workweek policy, citing feedback from TSMC engineers that a faster pace of development often necessitates extended working hours.