S. Korea to invest W200b in developing automotive chip technology
South Korea plans to invest more than 200 billion won ($176 million) in developing automotive chip-making technology by 2022 in an effort to nurture the next-generation vehicle sector, the finance minister said Wednesday.
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government plans to cooperate with local automakers to find ways to ease a current supply shortage of automotive chips that may last until the third quarter.
"As automotive chips are key parts of the car industry and demand for future-generation cars is high, it is urgent to ease a short-term supply shortage of such chips, enhance supply channels and preempt the market," Hong said at a meeting with government officials on innovative growth.
South Korea has set the non-memory chip, bio-health and next-generation vehicle sectors as the "BIG 3" industries that it seeks to nurture for job creation and innovation-driven growth.
Hong said the government will focus on investing in developing automotive application processors and other key auto chip-making technologies.
The country plans to consider allowing state-run banks to offer loans with lower rates if companies seek to expand automotive chips-related foundry business. (Yonhap)
