The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) held the Next-Generation Power Semiconductor Forum at EL Tower on April 23, 2026, with officials from relevant ministries and experts from industry, academia and research institutes. At the forum, MOTIR presented progress on the Roadmap for Developing the Next-Generation Power Semiconductor Industry, a key implementation task under the Semiconductor Industry Strategy for the AI Era announced in December 2025. The roadmap has been under development for about four months since the task force was launched. The forum also brought together anchor companies and experts to discuss future directions for large-scale R&D projects and plans for a power semiconductor innovation belt in Korea’s southern region.

The roadmap sets out a medium- to long-term blueprint for securing core technologies and stabilizing supply chains in the power semiconductor industry. It covers next-generation technology development, demonstration and mass-production infrastructure, and workforce training. Moving beyond fragmented support, MOTIR is planning large-scale R&D projects that will connect demand companies in electric vehicles, defense, power grids and data centers across the full value chain, from materials, devices and modules to system-level demonstration. MOTIR will also build power semiconductor infrastructure around key regional hubs. It will upgrade the public fab at the specialized power semiconductor complex in Busan and help private companies use demonstration data from public facilities in Pohang and Naju for product mass production. Furthermore, the ministry will link regional hub universities and use local demonstration facilities for hands-on training, helping train key talent for the power semiconductor innovation belt in Korea’s southern region and support growth in both the region and the industry.

Choi Woo-hyuk, Director General for High Technology Industry at MOTIR, said, “As the restructuring of global power semiconductor supply chains accelerates, MOTIR will give priority to compound semiconductors as a key development area. Together with relevant ministries, we will build an ecosystem for the power semiconductor industry, centered on the power semiconductor innovation belt in Korea’s southern region.”