South Korean Presidential Candidate Lee Jae-myung Promises Tax Incentives for Chip Industry

SEOUL (The News Pulse) — South Korea’s Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung promised in a Facebook post on Monday to implement a domestic manufacturing and sales incentive of up to 10% through a production tax credit for semiconductors, should he win the election.

Lee is leading the opinion polls heading into the June 3 election, and his promise mirrors actions taken by other nations to bolster their domestic chip sectors and safeguard supply lines, driven by worries about the effects of shifts in U.S. policies.

A little over a month ago, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing a new body to assume responsibility for the CHIPS Act program and accelerate business investments within the country.

Trump has consistently critiqued the bipartisan CHIPS Act, enacted by ex-President Joe Biden in August 2022, with the intention of encouraging semiconductor production within the U.S.

(Reported by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang Edited by Ed Davies)