the Ministry of Trade and Industry will create a director-general-level organization dedicated to large-scale semiconductor projects, including the planned southwestern semiconductor cluster. The ministry is also sharply expanding its existing chip organization and staffing so that a single body can oversee the policy workload that has grown with the enforcement of the Semiconductor Special Act.
The ministry and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 13th that a partial amendment to the decree on the organization of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and its affiliated agencies was approved at a Cabinet meeting. The revised structure takes effect on the 20th of this month.
At the center of the change is the new Semiconductor Innovation and Growth Support Group, headed by a director-general. The existing Semiconductor Division under the Advanced Industry Policy Bureau will be reorganized as the Semiconductor Policy Division, and two new divisions — Advanced Semiconductor and Semiconductor Ecosystem — will be added. Where a single division had handled all chip policy, the work will now be split among policy planning, advanced technology, and ecosystem support covering materials, parts and equipment.
The Semiconductor Policy Division will oversee industrial policy planning, while the Advanced Semiconductor Division will take charge of strengthening competitiveness in advanced chips. The Semiconductor Ecosystem Division will handle support for the chip industry ecosystem, including materials, parts and equipment.
The new organization will also support major semiconductor mega projects, including the southwestern semiconductor cluster. It will take sole charge of statutory duties created by the Semiconductor Special Act, such as drawing up a basic plan to strengthen the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry, operating the Special Committee on Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness, and designating and supporting semiconductor clusters.
Staffing will grow along with the organization. One new director-general-level support group head will be added, along with five staff for the Semiconductor Policy Division, six for the Advanced Semiconductor Division and four for the Semiconductor Ecosystem Division — 16 additional positions across the ministry's semiconductor organizations.
The ministry's total authorized headcount will rise by 20 under the reorganization. Besides the 16 positions in semiconductors, the remaining four will be assigned to a newly established India Trade Cooperation Division. The ministry is converting its Coal Industry Division into a Coal Industry Team and adjusting other existing units to concentrate organization and staff on semiconductors and trade with India.
The India Trade Cooperation Division will take charge of industrial and trade cooperation that has expanded since the Korea-India summit in April. It plans to identify industrial and investment cooperation projects and new joint ventures, and to support Korean companies entering the Indian market, expanding local operations and resolving business difficulties.
"Amid an intensifying battle for semiconductor supremacy, we will use the Semiconductor Innovation and Growth Support Group to back corporate investment and technological innovation, including mega projects, and further solidify our semiconductor competitiveness," Trade and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said.