Samsung Group, South Korea's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, said Wednesday that it will invest 180 trillion won (160 billion U.S. dollars) and hire 40,000 more employees for the next three years.
Samsung made the announcement to help revitalize the South Korean economy and foster new growth engines.
The government under South Korean President Moon Jae-in placed its top priority on job creation, especially among youths, unveiling supplementary budget to create decent jobs.
However, it had yet to take effect as the labor market was in the doldrums on soft corporate investment and weak private consumption.
Samsung expected to create 40,000 new jobs, including generating up to 20,000 additional new jobs on top of the previous hiring plans, over the next three years. It reflected Samsung's commitment to support youth employment, Samsung said in a statement.
Along with the direct employment of Samsung, its investment in South Korea was forecast to help induce around 700,000 jobs in related industries and businesses, the statement noted.
Among the total of 180 trillion won (160 billion U.S. dollars) in investment, 130 trillion won (116 billion U.S. dollars) will be spent in South Korea
Samsung said that it will invest 25 trillion won (22 billion U.S. dollars) in innovative business areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals over the next three years.
Innovations, powered by AI technology, was forecast to drive the industry's transformation. The next-generation 5G telecommunications technology was expected to create opportunities in autonomous driving, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics, Samsung said.
Samsung planned to significantly expand its research capability for AI technology, raising the number of advanced AI researchers to 1,000 across its global AI centers. It will also aggressively invest in 5G chipsets and related devices and equipment.
Samsung aimed to become a leader in electronics components for future cars such as system-on-chips for driverless driving, making use of its leadership in semiconductors, telecommunications and display technologies.
Separately, Samsung said it will increase support for basic sciences to identify new growth opportunities, widening its program to include areas of future technologies such as AI, 5G, IoT and biopharmaceuticals.
Additional investment will be made in semiconductors and display panels, Samsung said.
For semiconductors, Samsung planned to expand investment in its manufacturing factories to maintain technology leadership and meet new demand from applications in AI, 5G, data centers and automotive electronics.
The spending will include investments in non-memory chips and new advanced manufacturing equipment as well as memory products.
For display panels, investment will be increased to develop high-value, differentiated products amid stiff competition in the industry.
In conjunction with the South Korean government, Samsung will set up and operate software education centers to nurture software talent and help create new job opportunities.
The centers will train 10,000 students and job candidates across the nation, offering employment consulting services for the next five years.
It will also increase the scale of its so-called "Smart Factory" program, an initiative that provides automation solutions and intelligent upgrades for manufacturing facilities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
