Gov't to provide nearly $884.5 mil. for materials, equipment technology development

SK hynix's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 29 / Yonhap

The industry ministry will provide 1.29 trillion won ($884.5 million) this year to support projects aimed at developing materials, parts and equipment technologies, officials said Tuesday.

The amount marks a 9.6 percent increase from the corresponding tally for last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

The ministry said it has earmarked 470.6 billion won for projects aimed at developing materials technology for advanced industries, such as semiconductor, display, secondary battery and biohealth.

Another 545.7 billion won will be used for supporting projects related to fostering the high-value transition of major industries, such as machinery, automobile and chemical, as well as their efforts for green transition.

Some 93.9 billion won will be funneled into developing materials for the space and hydrogen industries.

Specifically, the ministry plans to support 30 projects on developing advanced materials for the steel and petrochemical industries, currently working to boost their competitiveness to tackle the industrywide crisis stemming from global oversupply.

To help the advanced industries strengthen their supply chains, it will support 65 projects, including developing copper materials for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, glass substrates for physical AI devices and others.