South Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung pledges chip tax credit

28/4/2025 12:58

South Korea's Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung pledged in a Facebook post on Monday to bring in a production tax credit of up to 10% for semiconductors manufactured and sold domestically, if he is elected.



Lee is the frontrunner in opinion polls to win the June 3 election, and his pledge echoes moves by other countries to shore up support for their domestic chips industry and protect supply chains amid concerns over the impact of U.S. policy changes.



Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order setting up a new entity to take over the CHIPS Act programme and speed up corporate investments in the United States.



Trump has repeatedly criticized the bipartisan CHIPS Act, signed by former President Joe Biden in August 2022, which aimed to incentivise bringing semiconductor manufacturing to the United States.