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Analysis Region: Gyeonggi
-do Core Regions:  Yongin, Icheon, Anseong, Suwon, Seongnam, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, and Semiconductor Megacluster Linkage Zone
Agenda: Mega-scale Semiconductor Investment and Supply Chain, Commercialization, and AX Diffusion of Local SMEs
Golden Time Type: Opportunity + Structural Risk
Reference Date: August 28, 2026
Version: Regional AX Golden Time Intelligence v3.1
 

Judging solely by the scale of Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor mega-cluster, unprecedented growth opportunities are opening up for local small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. Gyeonggi Province accounts for 84.7% of domestic semiconductor value added and 76% of sales revenue ; within the semiconductor mega-cluster connecting Seongnam, Suwon, Hwaseong, Yongin, Anseong, Pyeongtaek, and Icheon, not only are massive production bases of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix located, but also infrastructure for fabless companies, materials, components, and equipment, R&D, and workforce training is co-located. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

The problem lies in the fact that the growth of a cluster is not synonymous with the growth of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Even if large corporate fabs are expanded and long-term private investment exceeding 600 trillion won is planned, if local SMEs fail to enter the actual supply chain or overcome barriers to technology, funding, certification, and customer acquisition during the mass production stage, such mega-investments will not lead to the structural growth of local small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses.

Gyeonggi Province's current policies are also heading in this direction. By 2026, commercialization support totaling 1.1 billion won is being provided to 15 local materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) companies, with a maximum of 75 million won per company . In the fabless sector, support is being provided for TRL 7 demonstrations and TRL 8–9 mass production performance evaluations in collaboration with client companies. For mass production performance evaluations, up to 300 million won per company is provided to approximately four consortia . ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

The existence of such policies paradoxically demonstrates that the biggest bottleneck for small and medium-sized semiconductor companies in Gyeonggi Province lies not in technology development itself, but in the stages of mass production, sales channels, supply chain entry, and scale-up . The materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) fostering project, which has been ongoing since 2021, has identified technologically capable companies and supported them with prototypes, patents, and sales channels; growth in revenue and employment has been confirmed in some of these supported enterprises. However, there is still insufficient evidence to generalize the cases of a few dozen supported companies as a structural spread across the thousands of manufacturing firms throughout Gyeonggi Province. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Therefore, the key finding of this analysis is clear. While  small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in Gyeonggi Province are in the best position to ride the growth of the semiconductor cluster, the cluster's growth itself does not yet automatically guarantee the entry of these companies into the supply chain or their transition to AX. The next two to three years are a golden time to actually establish the link of 'large enterprise investment → local SME orders → productivity improvement → scale-up.'

Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor competitiveness cannot be explained solely by the two companies of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Fabless companies, equipment manufacturers, material suppliers, component manufacturers, testers, design support firms, process technology companies, and logistics and service providers are widely distributed around these semiconductor production bases. Gyeonggi Province is reorganizing this into a single semiconductor value chain connecting Seongnam, Suwon, Hwaseong, Yongin, Anseong, Pyeongtaek, and Icheon. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Gyeonggi Province also possesses a substantial base of SMEs. According to the SME Trends Report published by the Gyeonggi Economic & Science Promotion Agency in 2026, as of 2023 , there were 2,216,650 SMEs in the province , accounting for 26.7% of all SMEs nationwide, 26.6% of the total workforce, and 28.2% of total sales. However, these figures represent all SMEs across all industries and do not specifically refer to the number of semiconductor companies. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

More importantly, the same report analyzed that while both the number of firms and revenue in the manufacturing sector declined, the information and communications (ICT) and professional scientific services sectors grew rapidly. Although SMEs in the ICT sector increased by an annual average of 18.6% and those in professional scientific services by 15.0% from 2020 to 2023, the average number of employees per firm and revenue decreased.  The structure indicates that while an increase in the number of firms is confirmed, scale-up is insufficient . ( Gyeonggi-do News Portal )

The expansion of semiconductor clusters has the potential to change this structure. However, for large corporate investment to lead to increased sales for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, local companies must enter the supply chain as actual Tier companies , rather than merely being beneficiaries of the location .

The biggest mistake when evaluating the growth of a semiconductor cluster is equating the investment by large corporations with the growth of local SMEs . While the construction of mega-fabs generates demand for construction, equipment, materials, and services, not all local companies automatically become suppliers.

The semiconductor supply chain has higher barriers to entry than other manufacturing industries. Equipment, materials, and components must pass yield, reliability, long-term testing, and customer certification, while fabless companies bear high costs from design to prototype manufacturing and mass production verification. This is why Gyeonggi Province is providing separate support for TRL 7 demonstration followed by TRL 8–9 mass production performance evaluation in its 2026 fabless support program. ( Gyeonggi Provincial Government )

Therefore, the regional expansion of the semiconductor industry must be viewed by distinguishing the following three stages.

Investment by large corporations and expansion of fabs → Local companies secure technology, certifications, and mass production capabilities → Increase in actual supply contracts, sales, and employment

Currently, Gyeonggi Province holds an overwhelming position in the first phase. In the second phase as well, initiatives such as the Semiconductor Technology Center, System Semiconductor Development Support Center, shared equipment, mass production support, and projects to foster the materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) industry are being expanded. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

However, the third stage— public evidence that integrates and shows how many local companies have entered new supply chains and how much their sales have increased by city, county, and company size—is still limited. This is currently the biggest data gap.

The global semiconductor industry is shifting from a focus on simply expanding production capacity to competition in supply chain stability and advanced process ecosystems. The growing demand for AI semiconductors is driving simultaneous growth not only in memory and logic but also in advanced packaging, equipment, materials, testing, power semiconductors, and design IP.

This change presents both an opportunity and a risk for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. While the market itself is expanding, technology cycles are shortening, and customer standards for quality and delivery are rising. Companies capable of integrating process data, automation, AI quality control, and predictive maintenance are likely to gain an advantage over those that simply supply existing equipment or parts as is.

Gyeonggi Province's SME policies beginning to connect semiconductors and quantum technology are also part of this structural change. As of 2026, Gyeonggi Province is providing R&D and quantum transition technology support, process infrastructure, and technical consulting to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies related to quantum semiconductors. ( Gyeonggi Provincial Government )

Therefore, for local SMEs to ride the wave of semiconductor cluster growth is not merely about relocating to the vicinity of fabs.  It must be a process of moving to higher technological levels within the supply chain and raising quality, cost, and delivery times to global standards through Manufacturing AX .

Gyeonggi Province's support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises are gradually shifting from technology development to commercialization and mass production.

The 2026 Support Project for Fostering Materials, Parts, and Equipment Enterprises will select approximately 15 companies in the province and provide up to 75 million won per company for prototype development, intellectual property rights, product standard certification, and participation in domestic and international exhibitions. The total project budget is approximately 1.1 billion won. ( Gyeonggi Provincial Government )

In the fabless sector, the support stages are more specific. In conjunction with demand companies, 50 million won is provided per company to four demonstration companies at TRL 7, and up to 300 million won per company is provided to four consortia for mass production performance evaluation at TRL 8–9. Equipment and specialized personnel required from design to commercialization are provided through the System Semiconductor Development Support Center. ( Gyeonggi Provincial Government )

The Gyeonggi Semiconductor Technology Center in Gwanggyo, Suwon, supports prototype production and technology demonstration for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by featuring a performance testing facility for component technologies in materials, parts, and equipment and a human resource development center. The 3rd Pangyo Techno Valley is being designed as a fabless industry-academia-research cluster, with agreements with relevant agencies and the design and licensing processes currently underway for 2026. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

The direction of the policy is appropriate. However, looking at the number of supported companies, there is still a gap compared to the scale of industrial transformation targeting all SMEs in the cluster. The next step is a structure where technical support for dozens of companies spreads to hundreds or thousands of manufacturing enterprises .

The long-term competitiveness of a semiconductor cluster is determined more by the depth of the supply chain formed by surrounding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) than by the presence of large manufacturing companies . The higher the dependence on overseas sources for specific equipment, parts, and materials, the more large-scale production facilities are affected in the event of supply chain shocks.

For this reason, the Korean government also operates a separate investment support program for materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) in national high-tech strategic industries, including semiconductors. Five companies from Gyeonggi Province were finally selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's 2025 National High-tech Strategic Industry Sobujang Investment Support Fund program. Eligible companies are small and medium-sized Sobujang enterprises that produce supply chain stabilization items or strategic materials. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Gyeonggi Province has an advantage over other regions in that the largest number of domestic semiconductor production facilities, global equipment companies, and materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) enterprises are located in close proximity. Data for Gyeonggi Province for 2026 also confirms that global equipment companies such as ASML, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and KLA are located in the province, and that the relocation of numerous anchor companies to the Anseong Sobujang Specialized Complex is underway. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

However, the true competitiveness of this agglomeration must be judged by how much technology cooperation, supply contracts, and joint development domestic SMEs secure between the regional offices of global companies and large fabs .

On one hand, Gyeonggi Province has long-term semiconductor investments exceeding 600 trillion won planned, while on the other hand, the provincial-level support project for materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) scheduled for 2026 amounts to approximately 1.1 billion won across 15 companies. Although these two figures are not directly comparable, they illustrate the structure of the policy. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Just because large corporations invest massively does not mean that the scale-up costs for small and medium-sized enterprises are automatically resolved. On the contrary, as fab processes become more advanced, the capital required for testing, certification, equipment development, and mass production increases.

The fact that Gyeonggi Province is providing up to 300 million won to four consortia for fabless mass production support also illustrates the same structure.  The premise of the policy design is that even companies that have produced prototypes face cost and technological barriers during the mass production stage . ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Concrete results from past support programs have also been confirmed. Gyeonggi Province announced that 26 supported companies in 2022 recorded a total revenue increase of 2.5 billion won, created 44 new jobs, and secured 22 intellectual property rights . In individual company cases, there was even an instance where a company replaced imported materials and attracted 2 billion won in external investment. However, as this data represents the performance of specific past support programs, it should be viewed as a Historical Official Baseline and should not be extrapolated to represent the overall industrial performance of the province. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

If you connect the numbers, there is only one conclusion.

The problem in Gyeonggi Province is not a lack of demand, but whether local SMEs have sufficient scale-up capability to enter large-scale demand.

The first is the gap between large corporate investment and orders secured by local companies . While the cluster is global in scale, there is a lack of integrated public indicators that regularly show the value of new orders and supply chain entry rates for local firms.

The second is the gap between technology development and mass production . Not only fabless companies but also equipment and materials firms require significant time and cost for customer certification and mass production verification after technology development.

The third factor is the productivity gap between small businesses and large supply chains . Even with the necessary technology, it is difficult to enter the supply chains of large corporations if capabilities for quality, delivery, yield, information security, and process data management are lacking.

The fourth is the gap between support programs and scale-up . It is difficult to achieve the AX transformation of Gyeonggi Province's entire manufacturing sector solely through a method of supporting dozens of excellent companies.

The fifth is the performance measurement gap . While sales and employment performance by business sector exist, there is a lack of data tracking the progression from cluster expansion → regional SME sales → employment → productivity → supply chain share over a long-term time series.

For small and medium-sized semiconductor companies, shared equipment and testing infrastructure may be more important than factory sites. This is because it is difficult for individual SMEs to own advanced semiconductor equipment in-house. Gyeonggi Province’s establishment of the Gwanggyo Semiconductor Technology Center and the System Semiconductor Development Support Center is also intended to bridge this capital gap. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Talent is also a bottleneck. Gyeonggi Province is operating a training program for 800 people and a separate specialized design training program for 160 people at the Korea Semiconductor Academy Gyeonggi Education Center by 2026, and is promoting company-talent matching. ( Gyeonggi Provincial Government )

However, from the perspective of SMEs, it is more important to provide wages, experience, and educational environments capable of competing with large corporations than simply having a workforce . Even if talent is supplied, if most of them move to large corporations, the technological capabilities of local SMEs will not improve.

In terms of data and AX, the key aspects for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies are process data standardization, equipment data collection, defect analysis, predictive maintenance, and production planning optimization. Future support for semiconductor SMEs requires the separate measurement of Manufacturing AX Readiness alongside R&D.

The most important evidence for supporting SMEs is not budget execution, but corporate growth. Looking at overall SME trends in Gyeonggi Province as of 2023, while the province boasts the highest number of companies and revenue share in the nation, signs of marginalization—such as a decline in the average number of employees per company and revenue—have appeared simultaneously. A decrease in the number of companies and revenue within the manufacturing sector has also been confirmed. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

The semiconductor cluster is the greatest opportunity to reverse this trend. However, if local companies only absorb the demand for low-value-added facility management and general services and fail to enter the supply chains for core equipment, parts, materials, and design, the industrial structure itself will not change significantly.

It is the right direction for Gyeonggi Province to specify the purpose of its support projects for materials, parts, and equipment as connecting technology development achievements to actual sales and employment . ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

In future performance evaluations, it is necessary to track not only the single-year sales growth of supported companies but also their registration as new vendors to large corporations, long-term supply contracts, exports, follow-up investments, and conversion into mid-sized enterprises .

While the semiconductor megacluster is concentrated in southern Gyeonggi Province, regional functions differ within it. A functional division of labor is forming, with Seongnam focusing on fabless industries, Suwon on technology and research, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, and Icheon on production, Yongin on new large-scale fabs, and Anseong as a hub for materials, parts, and equipment. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

If this structure functions properly, SMEs gain the opportunity to participate in wide-area supply chains without needing to possess all necessary functions within a single city. Conversely, if support policies are operated independently by city, similar projects targeting the same companies may be repeated, potentially weakening connections between technology and demand companies.

The fact that Icheon City separately introduced the semiconductor-specialized materials, parts, and equipment enterprise fostering project for the first time in 2026 demonstrates that responses at the local government level are also spreading. Support for prototypes and sales channels, up to a maximum of 44 million won per company, is being implemented. ( Gyeonggi-do News Portal )

Therefore, Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor SME policy must shift from the sum of business support projects by city and county to a structure that views the entire megacluster as a single supply chain .

The first reason is that the supply chains of mega-production facilities have not yet fully solidified. In the early stages, when new fabs are being constructed and facility investments are underway, there is a relatively high likelihood that new equipment, parts, and materials companies will enter the supply chain. Once the vendor structure is established over a long period, the entry costs for latecomer SMEs can become significantly higher.

The second reason is that AI and advanced processes are simultaneously reshaping manufacturing competitiveness. The gap between SMEs that have secured manufacturing AX capabilities—such as process automation, AI quality control, and digital twins—and those that have not is highly likely to translate into future competitiveness in supply chains.

The third reason is that this is a time when projects capable of redesigning the SME ecosystem are moving forward simultaneously , including the Anseong Materials, Parts, and Equipment Specialized Complex, the 3rd Pangyo Fabless Cluster, the new Yongin fab, and the Icheon materials, parts, and equipment support system . ( Gyeonggi-do News Portal )

Therefore, the next two to three years can be viewed not merely as a period of corporate support, but as an initial structural formation period during which the position of local small and medium-sized enterprises in Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor supply chain is determined .

12-1. Golden Time Application Case in Basic Local Governments ① — Anseong City

Anseong is the most important region regarding this topic in that it is capable of redesigning the supply chain for materials, parts, and equipment. The Dongsin General Industrial Complex was designated as a specialized complex for semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment in 2023, and the industrial complex approval process began in earnest following the completion of consultations on farmland conversion in February 2026. ( Gyeonggi-do News Portal )

According to Gyeonggi Province data from July 2026, the Anseong Dongsin Materials, Parts, and Equipment Specialized Complex is being developed on a scale of approximately 1.2 million square meters , with anchor companies such as KC Tech, Comico, Mico, and Mico Ceramic scheduled to move in. However, as this is still in the 'planned' stage, it must be distinguished from actual occupancy or investment execution. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Anseong's Golden Time does not lie in simply filling the industrial complex. From the outset , joint testing, workforce, manufacturing AX, and supply chain matching among equipment, materials, and parts companies connected to the production bases in Yongin and Pyeongtaek must be designed. If the structure becomes entrenched around simple factory occupancy, a gap may arise between the designation of a specialized complex for materials, materials, and parts and the actual technology ecosystem.

12-2. Golden Time Application Cases in Basic Local Governments ② — Icheon City

Unlike Anseong, Icheon already possesses a large-scale semiconductor production base, making it a good region to verify whether the presence of existing anchor companies leads to the growth of local materials, parts, and equipment companies .

In 2026, Icheon City and the Gyeonggi Economic & Science Promotion Agency introduced the semiconductor-specialized materials, parts, and equipment enterprise fostering project for the first time, providing up to 44 million won per company for prototype development and market expansion. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

At the same time, Icheon has been pursuing the establishment of a Semiconductor Convergence Education Center in conjunction with Korea Polytechnic University, and has prepared a plan to open in 2026 following the enactment of relevant ordinances and construction. ( Icheon City Council )

Icheon's Golden Time does not lie in creating yet another support program for SMEs next to the large-scale production base of SK Hynix.  It lies in proving with actual data whether the process of anchor company demand → SME technology development → field testing → vendor registration → increased sales and employment functions as a single regional supply chain.

The greatest loss is that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) perceive the semiconductor boom as merely an external economic trend. If fabs are located in the region but core equipment, materials, and designs are supplied by external companies, and local SMEs remain limited to peripheral services, massive investments will fail to transform the regional industrial structure.

The second loss is the absence of scale-up companies. Promising SMEs succeed in technology development, but if they fail to invest in mass production and secure customers, they cannot escape their status as micro-enterprises.

The third is the manufacturing AX gap. As large corporations' factories rapidly shift toward AI, automation, and data-driven production, if partner companies remain stuck in traditional methods, the productivity gap across the entire supply chain widens.

The fourth factor is outflow to the region. If new demand generated by the semiconductor cluster flows out of Gyeonggi Province or to overseas suppliers, the industrial multiplier effect within the region is limited.

Gyeonggi Province has the most favorable environment in Korea for fostering the scale-up of small and medium-sized semiconductor companies. World-class semiconductor companies, global equipment manufacturers, universities and research institutions, testbeds, large-scale fabs, and fabless companies are located within close proximity.

If the Anseong Materials, Parts, and Equipment Specialization Complex, the 3rd Pangyo Fabless Cluster, the Suwon Semiconductor Technology Center, and the Icheon support system are connected here, there is a possibility of creating a structure that allows companies to move within the region from technology development → demonstration → certification → mass production → supply contract .

If this structure operates, the results go beyond mere job growth. A semiconductor scale-up pipeline can be established in Gyeonggi Province, enabling technologically advanced SMEs to grow into mid-sized enterprises and directly enter global supply chains .

This is the condition for a semiconductor megacluster to become a regional industrial ecosystem rather than a mere production complex.

In the future, the focus of Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor SME policy needs to shift from the distribution of subsidies to Scale-up Intelligence based on supply chain data .

The purpose of AX is not to select more companies for support.  It is to first identify which items have supply chain gaps, which companies are stalled right before mass production, and which local companies can connect with the demand of large corporations .

Opportunity + Structural Risk

Small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in Gyeonggi Province are in the most favorable position to benefit from the growth of the semiconductor industry in South Korea. Large-scale production facilities and global supply chains are located in the same region, and support infrastructure for materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) and fabless companies is also expanding.

However, large corporations' fab investments and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not automatically linked. There are gaps in mass production, certification, talent, capital, and AX levels, and it is difficult to conclude that the growth effects of the semiconductor megacluster have sufficiently spread to SMEs throughout the province based solely on currently available evidence.

Therefore , while strong opportunities currently exist, this is a stage where structural risks also exist, as failure to enter the supply chain could lead to the entrenchment of a hyper-concentrated structure centered on large corporations.

In future runtime analysis, the following evidence must be continuously tracked.

1. Number of small and medium-sized enterprises in the province in the semiconductor sector
2. Number of new materials, parts, and equipment companies established or relocated
3. Number of new SMEs moving into the megacluster
4. Number of newly registered vendors for large corporations
5. Semiconductor supply contract amount for local companies
6. Proportion of local procurement
7. Sales growth rate of materials, parts, and equipment companies
8. Semiconductor SME export value
9. Average number of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises
10. Number of SMEs converted to mid-sized enterprises
11. Number of fabless prototype companies
12. TRL 7→8~9 Conversion Rate
13. Mass production performance evaluation success rate
14. Actual contract rate after verification
15. Number of companies using shared equipment
16. Increase in technology certifications and patents
17. Manufacturing AX adoption rate
18. Productivity changes after AX implementation
19. Changes in defect rate, delivery time, and cost
20. Semiconductor specialist recruitment rate
21. SME workforce turnover rate
22. Actual occupancy rate of Anseong Materials, Parts, and Equipment Specialized Complex
23. 3rd Pangyo Fabless Company Relocation and Commercialization Achievements
24. Sales effects of local companies by city and county, such as Icheon
25. Domestic supply conversion rate of key items dependent on overseas sources

The most significant data gap currently is the lack of regular public statistics that directly link cluster investment amounts with new sales and supply chain entry amounts for local SMEs .

Runtime Chain

Large Enterprise Investment → New Demand → Technology Development by Local Companies → Demonstration/Certification → Mass Production → Supply Chain Entry → Revenue/Employment → Manufacturing AX → Scale-up

The key evidence identified in this analysis is divided into three layers.

The first is a large-scale industrial base . Gyeonggi Province accounts for 84.7% of domestic semiconductor value added and 76% of sales, and is establishing the world's largest semiconductor mega-cluster centered around Yongin, Pyeongtaek, and Icheon. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

The second is the SME Scale-up Policy . The 2026 support project for materials, parts, and equipment enterprises targets 15 companies with a total budget of 1.1 billion KRW, while mass production support for fabless companies separately provides funding for TRL 7 demonstration and TRL 8–9 mass production performance evaluation. The System Semiconductor Development Support Center and the Semiconductor Technology Center also jointly provide design, verification, and demonstration equipment. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

The third point is the data gap between past performance and the present . While instances of increased sales, employment, and patents have been confirmed in companies that received support for materials, parts, and equipment, these are the results of specific support programs. Therefore, this cannot be generalized to all semiconductor SMEs in Gyeonggi Province. ( Gyeonggi News Portal )

Furthermore, as of 2026, the Anseong Dongsin Industrial Complex is in the licensing process stage, and the entry of anchor companies is also scheduled. The Icheon Materials, Parts, and Equipment Support Project is also a program that was implemented for the first time in 2026. Therefore, for both regions, future performance and current performance must be tracked by clearly separating them. ( Gyeonggi-do News Portal )
 

Structural insights remaining from this analysis

The true economic significance of the Gyeonggi Semiconductor Megacluster is not determined by the size of the fabs. What is more important is how many local SMEs in the surrounding area grow into technology companies .

Until now, Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor strategy has been very strong in terms of inputs, such as the establishment of production facilities, industrial complexes, and infrastructure. Now, the focus of the policy must shift from outputs to outcomes.

What matters is not the number of supported companies, but the number of new supply contracts; not the number of prototypes, but the mass production conversion rate; not the number of companies in industrial complexes, but sales and productivity per company; and not the number of small and medium-sized enterprises, but the number of companies that have grown into mid-sized enterprises.

In particular, manufacturing AX is becoming less of a separate industrial policy and more of a survival condition for small and medium-sized enterprises to keep up with the quality, delivery, and cost standards of large corporate supply chains .

For this reason, Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor Golden Time is not when the construction of mega-fabs is completed. Rather, it is now, as the supply chain structure is being established. Local companies must be connected to technology, demonstration, mass production, and purchasing before the vendor structure of the new fabs becomes entrenched.

If the semiconductor boom driven by large conglomerates leads to the growth of local small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, Gyeonggi Province can evolve beyond a world-class production cluster into a global semiconductor supply chain ecosystem . Conversely, if local SMEs remain on the periphery of the supply chain, the structural competitiveness of the regional manufacturing sector may not improve as much as expected, even with hundreds of trillions of won in investment.

Golden Time Thesis — The success of Gyeonggi Province’s semiconductor mega-cluster should be judged not by the investment of hundreds of trillions of won, but by how many local small and medium-sized manufacturing companies move beyond prototypes to mass production and supply contracts within the next two to three years, and scale up into global supply chain enterprises through manufacturing AX.