Yongin Recognized as Korea's Top 'Semiconductor Industry Leading City'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Yongin Special City has been recognized as Korea's top 'Semiconductor Industry Leading City.'

Yongin City announced on the 3rd that it was selected for 1st place in the 'Semiconductor Industry Leading City Category' at the '2024 New York Festival Korea-National Brand Awards.'

The 'National Brand Awards,' hosted by the 'New York Festival,' one of the world's three major advertising festivals selected by the International Advertising Association (IAA), and organized by the 'Korea-National Brand Awards Korean Committee,' selects and awards brands with high competitiveness in various fields as Korea's national brands.

At the awards ceremony, First Vice Mayor Ryu Gwang-yeol attended and received the award in place of Mayor Lee Sang-il.

In the National Brand Competitiveness Index (NCI) measured by the organizers, Yongin City received the highest score among local governments in Korea in the 'Semiconductor Industry Leading City Category.'

Among the evaluation items, the brand awareness score was the highest. This is interpreted as being due to the significant domestic and international attention and expectations for △designation of advanced system semiconductor national industrial complex (Idong and Namsa-eup) △the 'Yongin Semiconductor Cluster' in the national industrial complex and Wonsam-myeon △Samsung Electronics Future Research Complex (Giheung Campus) in three locations as specialized districts for national advanced strategic industries, the creation of a semiconductor-specialized new city (Idong-eup, Cheoin-gu), and investments by semiconductor-related companies that have been led by Mayor Lee Sang-il since taking office in the 8th term.

The city succeeded in attracting the 'Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex' to Idong-eup and Namsa-eup in Cheoin-gu last March. Samsung Electronics plans to invest approximately 360 trillion won over the next 20 years at this location.

Additionally, construction of the 'Yongin Semiconductor Cluster General Industrial Complex,' where SK Hynix will invest 122 trillion won, is currently underway in Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu.

The city is also collaborating with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to carry out the 'Advanced Semiconductor Production-Linked Mini Fab Foundation Building Project,' which will enable demonstration of semiconductor materials, components, and equipment at this location, and is focusing its efforts to ensure the preliminary feasibility study is approved.

Samsung Electronics' Giheung Campus, where Samsung Electronics plans to invest 20 trillion won, will be reborn as a next-generation semiconductor research hub.

On March 13th, the city opened a 'Semiconductor Education and Industry-Academia Hub' on the first floor of City Hall's main building in collaboration with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) to nurture specialized personnel in the semiconductor industry.

Mayor Lee Sang-il of Yongin City stated, "Yongin City, selected as the number one 'Semiconductor Industry Leading City' at the '2024 National Brand Awards,' is where Korea's semiconductor industry began 41 years ago, and will become a city leading the world's semiconductor industry in the future. Yongin City will make efforts to expand infrastructure in various fields including housing, transportation, education, culture, and sports so that companies and talent related to advanced industries such as semiconductors can gather and contribute to Korea's development."