The Korean government has partnered with Arm, the world's largest semiconductor intellectual property (IP) design company, to train 1,400 domestic chip design engineers.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Arm for "strengthening Korea's semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) industry." The MOU was initiated following a meeting between President Lee Jae-myung, SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son, and Arm CEO Rene Haas.
The agreement covers cooperation in four key areas: training 1,400 industry-tailored professionals, technology exchange and ecosystem development, strengthening university partnerships, and research and development (R&D). Both sides plan to establish a working group to implement the MOU and discuss detailed plans for achieving results.
MOTIE plans to operate an "Arm School" program with the company to train approximately 1,400 engineers over the next five years starting next year.
"Arm is a computer design platform that global tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft, as well as global semiconductor companies including Samsung, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, rely on," the ministry said. "By training domestic IP professionals with Arm, we expect to significantly enhance competitiveness in system semiconductors, including fabless and foundry sectors, where Korea is relatively weak."
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan said, "Through this MOU, we have established a foundation for nurturing key talent who will be responsible for the future of our AI semiconductor industry. We will do our best to build cooperative foundations with world-class global companies in preparation for the AI era."
