Seoul is adding a director-general-level semiconductor unit and a dedicated India division as it accelerates chip investment and seeks to turn closer ties with New Delhi into business opportunities.
South Korea is setting up a new ministerial unit to drive its semiconductor expansion and a separate desk to deepen industrial and trade ties with India, as the government steps up support for two of its most important economic priorities.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the ministry’s organisational rules on 13 October, with the changes due to take effect on 20 October. The reshuffle will add one director-general-level body, two new divisions and 20 posts.
The centrepiece is the creation of the Semiconductor Innovation Growth Support Task Force, a director-general-level unit that will bring together the semiconductor policy, advanced semiconductor and semiconductor ecosystem divisions. The ministry said the existing semiconductor division will be reorganised into a policy division, while a new advanced semiconductor division will be created alongside a semiconductor ecosystem division to strengthen support for materials, parts and equipment suppliers. The new unit will oversee policy planning, technological competitiveness and ecosystem support, including legal duties under the Semiconductor Special Act.
The task force is also intended to support major investment schemes, including the south-western semiconductor mega-project. On 12 October, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan visited the site of the planned project near Gwangju military air base to review land preparation and plans for electricity and water supply for the 800 trillion won scheme, underscoring the government’s effort to turn headline investment plans into industrial estates and factory projects.
The ministry is also creating an India Trade Cooperation Division to manage an expanded economic agenda with New Delhi after the two countries’ summit in April. South Korea and India then agreed to establish an industrial cooperation committee, restart negotiations to improve their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and broaden collaboration in energy and resource security. The new division will help Korean companies enter the Indian market, support local expansion, identify investment and industrial partnership opportunities, and handle business concerns on the ground.
Industry data and recent ministry discussions suggest India is becoming a more important destination for South Korean manufacturers. At the 60th Trade Promotion Committee meeting on 8 October, officials discussed a plan for a dedicated industrial complex for Korean companies in India, indicating that the new division will serve as the administrative base for projects already under way, including industrial site development and talks on improving the CEPA.
Kim said semiconductors are a core strategic sector for the South Korean economy, noting that they sit at the heart of supply chains and account for roughly half of the country’s exports. He added that the new support task force would back corporate investment and innovation as global competition intensifies, while the India-focused division would aim to turn the momentum from the summit into tangible results for companies.
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