Gyeonggi Province to push for employment subsidies at ASM Hwaseong plant in the Netherlands

Gyeonggi Province, along with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Hwaseong City, will provide 15 billion won in employment subsidies to the Hwaseong plant of ASM in the Netherlands, a global semiconductor equipment company, for four years to help domestic workers find employment.

The Gyeonggi provincial government said it has submitted a "consent of cash support for foreign direct investment" to the provincial council.

The motion will provide 3 billion won in employment subsidies for 372 people to ASM in the Netherlands over a four-year period between 2025 and 2028.

Earlier in November last year, ASM applied for cash support (employment subsidies) to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy's Cash Support Evaluation Committee judged in December that cash support was appropriate.The employment subsidy support for

is worth 15 billion won, including 9 billion won in state funds, 3 billion won in provincial expenses, and 3 billion won in Hwaseong City, and Hwaseong City decided to support it in June.

The province plans to confirm 3 billion won in support after consent from the provincial council, and the cash support for ASM will be finalized next month after deliberation by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's cash support limit setting committee.

ASM is the world's No. 1 company in the atomic layer deposition technology (ALD) market (annual sales of 3.8 trillion won), which is essential for semiconductor production, and has established and operated the Hwaseong Campus (Manufacturing Research Innovation Center) in Dongtan, Hwaseong City, in 2019. It invests $100 million to build the 2nd Manufacturing Research Innovation Center nearby with the goal of completing it by 2025.

Earlier on the 31st (local time), Governor Kim Dong-yeon and Hwaseong Mayor Chung Myung-geun met at ASM headquarters in Almer, the Netherlands, with Hichem M.S.A. and Paul Berghagen, financial director, to sign a win-win cooperation agreement.

The agreement also included the provision of employment opportunities to Gyeonggi-do residents and graduates of Gyeonggi-do universities, internship programs and recruitment programs with universities in Gyeonggi-do.