South Korea is considering plans to vaccinate workers at key businesses, including chip and electronics firms, to minimize disruptions to production, the government said yesterday, amid global efforts to boost supply of scarce computer chips.
The South Korean Ministry of Labor and Employment has sent letters to companies — including Samsung Electronics Co, SK Hynix Inc and LG Electronics Inc — seeking information on their COVID-19 vaccination needs, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing government and industry sources.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and the labor ministry said they were discussing options with other government agencies, but no specifics had been decided.
Photo: Bloomberg
“When we set up our vaccination plans for the third quarter, we will review needs for such priorities and consult with relevant ministries,” KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing, when asked about vaccinating those who work in key industries.
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and LG Electronics said they had received the letter.
The move comes amid a global chip shortage that has affected manufacturers around the world, particularly automakers. Samsung and SK Hynix are the world’s top two memorychip makers.
The South Korean government is trying to ramp up its inoculation drive after a slow start.
One plan under consideration is to provide vaccines for workers at units that run nonstop, and for those deemed essential to the economy.
South Korea has inoculated about 10 million people, or 19.6 percent of its 52 million people, and plans to vaccinate 70 percent by the third quarter.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS