By Nam Hyun-woo
Vaccine sharing, chip investments and the North Korea issue are projected to top the agenda for this week s summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Officials in both countries presidential offices are already dropping hints at a bilateral vaccine partnership, and this move is anticipated to be backed by South Korean chipmakers substantial investments in the U.S. Building from cooperation in these areas, the leaders of the two nations are expected to explore measures to encourage North Korea to return to talks.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, Moon will have a summit with Biden at the White House on May 21 (U.S. time). This summit will be Moon s first in-person meeting with Biden since the latter took office on Jan. 20, and Moon will be the second foreign leader to have an in-person summit with the U.S. president, following Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Gov’t vows to create world’s largest chip supply chain
May 14, 2021, 08:50 am
Source: The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
AsiaToday reporter Choi Won-young
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will invest 510 trillion won ($458.1 billion) in semiconductors for 10 years while the government will provide tax cuts and cheap loans to establish the world’s largest semiconductor supply chain, the so-called ‘K-Semiconductor Belt’. The new semiconductor cluster will cover the Gyeonggi provincial areas of Pangyo and Yongin.
President Moon Jae-in announced the ‘K-Semiconductor blueprint’ aimed at making South Korea the world’s No. 1 semiconductor powerhouse by 2030, at Samsung’s chip manufacturing center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. The event was participated in by officials from the government and private sector including Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Yoo Eun-hye, Samsung Electronics