Samsung Electronics will finalise plans to expand its foundries in the United States as early as next month, according to reports by the Korea Herald.
Samsung met with both US President Joe Biden and Korean President Moon Jae-in last week, and have hit fast-forward on plans to invest heavily in US factories.
The company is estimated to be spending AUD$57.7 billion on two new factories, one of which will be in Austin, Texas, the other in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
Papers filed with the state of Texas by Samsung indicate they are planning to build a AUD$21.9 billion foundry in Austin.
Some fear this hefty investment in US factories will be detrimental to Korea’s current market position.
“In the US, the president is taking the lead in reviving its semiconductor industry,” Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation said in a meeting with Hong Nam-ki, the country’s top economic policymaker, last week.
“Frankly, I am worried that Korea, the world’s chip powerhouse, could lose its position in the market.”
He is also calling for a pardon for imprisoned Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong, who was imprisoned in January after being found guilty of bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
