SEOUL, May 12 - South Korea is readying plans for a support package for chip investments and research worth more than 10 trillion won , the finance minister said on Sunday, after setting its sights on winning a "war" in the semiconductor industry.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said the government would soon announce details of the package, which targets chip materials, equipment makers, and fabless companies throughout the semiconductor supply chain. The program could include offers of policy loans and the setting-up of a new fund financed by state and private financial institutions, Choi told executives of domestic chip equipment makers at a meeting, the finance ministry said in a statement.
South Korea is also building a mega chip cluster in Yongin, south of its capital, Seoul, which it touts as the world's largest such high-tech complex.Workers at Apple's store in Towson, Maryland, have voted in favor of authorizing a strike, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a statement late on Saturday.