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The government plans to develop 1,400 specialists in semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) during the next five years, working together with the British semiconductor design firm Arm.

The Department of Trade, Industry, and Resources stated on the 5th that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Arm to boost the Korean semiconductor and AI sectors. This agreement comes after a meeting held on the same day between President Lee Jae-myung, SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son, and Arm’s CEO Rene Haas, with the goal of fostering future collaboration among Korea, SoftBank, and Arm. Arm, a top player in semiconductor design, is primarily owned by SoftBank, which holds about 90% of its shares.

As a result, the ministry intends to set up a temporary ‘Arm School’ in collaboration with Arm, aiming to train around 1,400 semiconductor and AI specialists from next year through 2030. Furthermore, both parties will encourage technology sharing, strengthen the ecosystem, and improve cooperation with universities. For this purpose, they have decided to create a working group.

The government thinks that working with Arm will enhance South Korea’s ability to compete in system semiconductor areas like fabless and foundry, where the nation is seen as less strong. This is because Arm is the top computer design platform, used by major global technology companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft, along with leading semiconductor companies like Samsung, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm.

By developing local professional talent in collaboration with Arm, the government aims to boost South Korea’s competitiveness in system semiconductor fields like fabless and foundry (contract manufacturing), where the nation is currently at a disadvantage. Both parties have agreed to form a working group in the future to carry out the memorandum of understanding and explore specific actions to produce tangible outcomes.

Trade, Industry, and Resources Minister Kim Jung-kwan said, “With this memorandum of understanding, we have established the groundwork for developing essential personnel who will shape the future of our AI semiconductor sector,” and added, “We will strive to create a collaborative framework with top global companies in readiness for the upcoming AI era.”