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IQ Lab Headquarters and Production Facility Completed, First Domestic Production of 8-inch Silicon Carbide Power Semiconductors!

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that the completion ceremony for “IQ Lab Headquarters and Production Facility” will be held today (September 17) at 11:30 AM at IQ Lab’s headquarters, located at 963-3, Banryong-ri, Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun.

The ceremony will proceed in the order of opening remarks, progress report, congratulatory and commemorative speeches, and the completion ceremony. Approximately 300 attendees are expected, including Mayor Park Heong-joon, IQ Lab CEO Kim Kwon-je, Gijang County Mayor Jeong Jong-bok, KDB Senior Executive Vice President Kim Bok-gyu, and Reon Industrial CEO Lee Chae-yoon.

The newly completed IQ Lab plant is the nation’s first full-process production facility for 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC)-based power semiconductors. In addition to its own product manufacturing, the facility is also equipped to provide foundry services. After a trial run this year (2025), it will begin full-scale operations in 2026 with an annual wafer production capacity of 30,000 units.

IQ Lab signed an investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city in October 2023 and broke ground on its headquarters and production facility in June 2024. The project reached completion in just one year. In response to the company’s decision to relocate its headquarters from Ansan, Gyeonggi-do to Busan, the city provided approximately 5 billion KRW in investment promotion funding and expedited various permitting procedures, working closely with the company throughout the entire process from MOU signing to groundbreaking to completion.

The entire project site spans 8,750 square meters (approx. 2,650 pyeong) with a total floor area of 7,322 square meters (approx. 2,220 pyeong), including cleanroom and office facilities. The total project cost amounted to 100 billion KRW. This has laid the foundation for the localization of full-process 8-inch SiC power semiconductor production and the internalization of advanced technology in Korea.

Furthermore, IQ Lab is actively working on youth employment and talent development in the region following its relocation to Busan. The company is expanding industry-academia cooperation with high schools and universities in the Busan–Gyeongnam area to facilitate graduate recruitment and is creating quality jobs through the hiring of about 200 new employees.

In addition, one floor (approx. 660 m²) of the office building is being developed into a RISE field campus dedicated to power semiconductors, establishing a field-oriented industry-academia cluster model to foster local talent and strengthen industry-academia cooperation.

Kim Kwon-je, CEO of IQ Lab, stated, “Thanks to the strong support of Busan Metropolitan City and the designation of the specialized complex, we were able to successfully complete the nation’s first 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) plant. We will ensure that IQ Lab grows into a global power semiconductor company representing Busan.”

Mayor Park Heong-joon remarked, “I sincerely congratulate IQ Lab, an outstanding semiconductor company from the capital region, on the relocation of its headquarters and the completion of its production facility in Busan. Alongside the ongoing International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials (ICSCRM), I am confident that Busan will rise as a global hub city for power semiconductors. We will provide full support to ensure that IQ Lab becomes a model enterprise through its relocation to Busan, and we will intensify our efforts to attract more semiconductor companies from the capital region.”