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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with representatives of major South Korean companies Thursday at the Blue House. (Yonhap News)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said at an expanded meeting of Cabinet ministers in economically related areas Thursday that the semiconductor industry is a "key national strategic industry that the present and future of the South Korean economy hinges upon."

"We will continue to take the lead in the global semiconductor supply chain," he said.

His remarks read as a pledge not to let go of South Korea's semiconductor supply chain advantage — a linchpin in the national economy — at a time when US President Joe Biden has been assembling major semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and Intel to request the building of factories.

Moon joined Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki, other ministers of economically related agencies, and Blue House policy chief Lee Ho-seung and met with representatives of major companies Thursday at the Blue House to confirm their commitment to fostering mainstay industries such as semiconductors, batteries, automobiles and shipbuilding.

Moon declared plans to "take advantage of the 'semiconductor super cycle' as a new opportunity to provide strong support for making strides as an overall semiconductor power."

"We will be formulating various support measures to keep our global first place ranking and widen the gap with the competition," he pledged.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and representative of major South Korean companies pose for a picture Thursday after their meeting at the Blue House. (provided by the Blue House)

He also spoke about the battery industry, noting that the "expansion of the electric vehicle market has led to a rapid rise in demand for rechargeable batteries."

"We will be developing a comprehensive support strategy to ensure supremacy in the global battery market," he promised.

In particular, Moon stressed the importance of an alliance among domestic industries.

"We will increase our localization rate through an alliance between the semiconductor and automobile industries," he declared. His remarks read as a plea for cooperation among domestic mainstay industries in response to the recent settlement reached by LG and SK in their battery technology dispute, as well as global supply imbalances in automobile semiconductors.

Attendees at the meeting included Samsung Electronics President Lee Jung-bae, SK Hynix President Lee Seok-hee, Hyundai Motor President Gong Young-woon, INFAC President Choi Woong-seon, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering CEO Ka Sam-hyun and HMM President Bae Jae-hoon.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided on plans to share a comprehensive "K-semiconductor belt strategy" and a development strategy for the automobile battery industry within the first half of 2021.

The ministry also said it was working on measures for a transition toward future vehicles in the automobile parts industry, with a target announcement date during the first half of the year.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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