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National Assembly's legislation committee passes special semiconductor bill

Published: 10 Dec. 2025, 18:15

The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee is in session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Dec. 10. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

A special bill aimed at strengthening competitiveness and fostering innovation in Korea’s semiconductor industry passed the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. However, a controversial clause that would have exempted chipmakers from the 52-hour workweek limit was not included.

The committee held a full session that day and approved the “Special Act on Strengthening Competitiveness and Innovation in the Semiconductor Industry” (translated), commonly referred to as the “Semiconductor Special Law” in Korean.

The legislation calls for the establishment of a presidential committee on industry competitiveness; designation of “semiconductor clusters”; investment in related infrastructure, such as electricity, water supply and road networks; and streamlined procedures for preliminary feasibility studies, including priority selection and potential exemptions.

It also includes provisions to create a special fund for the semiconductor industry, which will be in effect through Dec. 31, 2036.

The proposed exemption to the 52-hour workweek — a point of contention within the industry — failed to gain bipartisan agreement during discussions by the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Friday. The matter was deferred to the Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, which will continue deliberations.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]