South Korea boosts chips support to US$23 billion ahead of more Trump tariffs
South Korea shipped US$10.7 billion in chips to the US last year. Trump is expected to announce tariffs on semiconductor imports this week
The measures come in response to calls on the government to expand support at a time of growing policy uncertainty under the current US administration and rising competition from Chinese rivals, the government said in a statement.
Seoul will also ramp up a financial assistance programme for the chips industry to 20 trillion won, versus the previous 17 trillion won, according to the joint statement from various ministries including the trade ministry.
South Korea’s decision to pump more money into its key chips sector is designed to help companies cope with heavier costs as they compete globally, it said.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy is home to the world’s top memory chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, though they have fallen behind some rivals in areas such as chip design and contract chip manufacturing.
In 2024, South Korea’s exports of semiconductors stood at US$141.9 billion, accounting for 21 per cent of the country’s total, government data showed.