Gangwon State seeks to attract fabless firms at Korea’s largest semiconductor exhibition

【Financial News, Chuncheon = Reporter Kim Gi-seop】Gangwon State, which has secured specialized semiconductors and ceramics as growth engines under the government’s 5-Pole, 3-Special regional growth strategy, is launching an investment-attraction drive at the country’s largest semiconductor exhibition. With the project to establish a semiconductor design support center included in next year’s government budget proposal, efforts to attract fabless companies are also expected to gain further momentum.
According to Gangwon State on the 13th, the province will take part in SEDEX 2026, held at COEX in Seoul from the 14th to the 16th, and run a promotional pavilion promoting Gangwon as a special self-governing province for semiconductors. Organized by the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, SEDEX is the country’s largest specialized exhibition, with around 300 companies participating across the semiconductor industry, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as well as companies in memory and system semiconductors, materials, components and equipment, and sensors.
Three semiconductor companies from the province—GQL, MIJ and Neol—will also take part in the pavilion and introduce their products and technological capabilities firsthand. The province plans to create the exhibition space jointly with these companies to showcase the technological competitiveness and growth potential of Gangwon’s semiconductor industry and expand opportunities for exchange and cooperation with industry representatives.
During the exhibition, the province will also present key policies, including its plan to build a Gangwon-style semiconductor ecosystem, business support programs, workforce training programs and test beds. In particular, it plans to strengthen the competitiveness of the local semiconductor industry by expanding efforts to attract and support fabless companies, building on the development of specialized semiconductors and ceramics and the establishment of the design support center.
During the event, the province will also brief major semiconductor companies on the investment environment in the province and tailored support measures, and assess each company’s investment and cooperation needs. It plans to use the needs identified at the exhibition as a basis for follow-up consultations and turn them into actual investment and cooperation outcomes.
Hwang Seong-hyeon, director of Gangwon State’s Semiconductor Industry Division, said, “With specialized semiconductors and ceramics selected as growth engines for the Gangwon region and funding for the design support center included in the budget, this exhibition, which will bring together around 300 companies, comes at an opportune time to showcase Gangwon’s investment environment for the semiconductor industry. We will spare no effort in providing available support, including test beds and workforce training, so that the connections local companies make at the event can bear fruit in actual contracts and investment.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter