South Korea has launched a first-round deregulation package aimed at moving delayed corporate projects into execution and unlocking a total of ₩4.2 trillion (approximately $3.0 billion) in investment across semiconductors, secondary batteries, biotech and food manufacturing. The measures, announced on the 13th at an emergency economic headquarters meeting and economy-related ministers' meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol, include amending the Building Act so large industrial complexes such as the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster can grant separate permits for expansion buildings, a change the government says could speed approximately ₩2.5 trillion (approximately $1.8 billion) in investment. The package also exempts qualifying non-profit testbed operators from gift tax between 2027 and 2031, easing the burden on Trinity Fab, a 12-inch wafer-based semiconductor demonstration facility scheduled for construction from 2025 to 2031 with approximately ₩800 billion (approximately $565 million) in funding. Battery recycling businesses that recover lithium, nickel and cobalt from spent batteries will also be allowed into the Gumi and Pohang National Industrial Complexes after plan revisions in the second half of this year, supporting approximately ₩100 billion (approximately $70.6 million) in investment. Additional steps include biotech factory expansion at the Ochang Science Industrial Complex worth approximately ₩530 billion (approximately $374 million), broader permitted uses at the Iksan National Food Cluster supporting approximately ₩350 billion (approximately $247 million), and wider rule changes covering collaborative robots, mobile robots, AI data centers, gas inspections at semiconductor fabs, RE100 and urban innovation zones. The government plans a second round in the third quarter focused on hyper-innovation economy flagship projects and green industries after concluding that delayed investment is colliding with low birth rates, population aging and intensifying global competition even as first-quarter facility investment rose 6.6% quarter on quarter, led by semiconductors.