South Korea's Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting the Competitiveness of the Semiconductor Industry, widely known as the Semiconductor Special Act, took effect on Aug. 11, establishing a legal framework aimed at securing global leadership in the semiconductor sector.
Industry and academic groups welcomed the law's implementation but stressed that its success will depend on the swift and consistent rollout of support for critical infrastructure, including power and water supplies.
The Semiconductor Special Act, enacted and promulgated in February, includes measures to designate and support semiconductor clusters, expand industrial infrastructure such as power, water, and roads, provide exemptions from preliminary feasibility studies, establish a special account for strengthening semiconductor competitiveness, train specialized talent, and stabilize supply chains for materials, components, and equipment.
A special committee chaired by the president will be established to formulate basic and implementation plans. The core purpose is to create a legal foundation for systematically supporting South Korea's semiconductor ecosystem amid intensifying global competition in the AI era.
The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) welcomed the law, calling it an important institutional foundation for supporting large-scale corporate investment and innovation across the semiconductor ecosystem at a time of rising global demand for AI chips.
“For the act to deliver meaningful results in the field, support for investment must be accompanied by the swift and consistent development of core infrastructure, including power and water supply, as well as follow-up policy measures,” the association said.
“When government policy and corporate investment work in tandem, competitiveness across memory chips, system semiconductors, advanced packaging, and materials, components, and equipment will be strengthened, creating a more resilient semiconductor ecosystem.”
The association also said it would serve as a bridge between the government and the industry to ensure that feedback from the field is reflected in policy.
Academics, meanwhile, are calling for improvements to the research and development environment that were not included in the Semiconductor Special Act—particularly greater flexibility in working hours.
They argue that a provision removed during the legislative process, which would have exempted or eased the 52-hour weekly workweek limit for R&D personnel, should be included in the proposed Mega Special Zone Act, which the government aims to enact within the year.
The argument is that more flexible working arrangements—including discretionary work systems, expanded selective working-hour systems, and exemptions—would be more conducive to improving research productivity.
“The uniform and rigid application of the 52-hour workweek to R&D employees could undermine South Korea's technological competitiveness in the semiconductor industry,” the Korean Institute of Semiconductor Engineers said.
“For a flexible work system to be effective, managers must evaluate employees based on performance rather than hours worked.”
