Lee Jae-yong Visits Xi'an Semiconductor Plant: "There Is No Time. We Must Not Miss the Opportunity"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the semiconductor plant located in Xi'an, Shanxi Province, China on the 18th (local time), signaling the resumption of global on-site management.

According to Samsung Electronics, Vice Chairman Lee visited the semiconductor factory in Xi'an, China on that day to discuss the impact and countermeasures related to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and took time to encourage employees.

This is the first overseas business trip for Vice Chairman Lee in four months since he visited Samsung Electronics' Manaus and Campinas plants in Brazil in January to inspect the Latin American business. Until now, he was unable to visit overseas sites due to the global spread of COVID-19, but with the simplified entry procedures introduced this month by the Korean and Chinese governments exempting Korean businesspeople who test negative for COVID-19 from the mandatory 14-day quarantine after entry, the visit was made abruptly.

In particular, Vice Chairman Lee is the first global executive to visit China, known as the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak, since the pandemic began, drawing attention. Vice Chairman Lee also underwent a COVID-19 test upon entering China and is reported to undergo another test upon returning in accordance with government policies.

Present at the site were President Jin Gyo-young, Head of the Memory Business Division; President Park Hak-gyu, Head of the DS Division Management Support Office; and President Hwang Deuk-gyu of Samsung China. At the meeting, Vice Chairman Lee emphasized, "There is no future if we are held back by the past or complacent in the present," adding, "To create new growth engines, we must proactively prepare for the coming massive changes. There is no time. We must not miss the opportunity."

Vice Chairman Lee also visited the Xi'an semiconductor site in February last year and encouraged employees working during the Lunar New Year holiday. Samsung Electronics stated, "This trip is intended to emphasize the determination to actively respond to the COVID-19 crisis while not loosening the reins on challenges preparing for the future."

The Samsung Electronics Xi'an plant is Samsung's only overseas memory semiconductor production base and is one of the business sites to which Vice Chairman Lee pays special attention. Despite the COVID-19 situation, the expansion work of the second plant is proceeding as scheduled, and last month, after consultations between the two governments, about 200 engineers necessary for the expansion of the second plant were dispatched by chartered flight, achieving a significant result.

This trip to Xi'an, China by Vice Chairman Lee is also his first public appearance since his national apology on the 6th regarding the management succession controversy and his statement to "create a new Samsung befitting the national dignity of the Republic of Korea." Notably, this visit took place amid the imminent summons of Vice Chairman Lee by prosecutors investigating allegations related to the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.

Although this is his first overseas trip in about 100 days, Vice Chairman Lee has continuously pursued on-site management by visiting domestic business sites despite the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 20th, he visited the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) line at Samsung Electronics' Hwaseong plant, known as the "heart of the system semiconductor business," and on March 3rd, when COVID-19 was spreading severely in Korea, he visited the Gumi plant and then underwent two weeks of self-quarantine.

In March, he visited the Asan plant in Chungnam (on the 19th) and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in Suwon (on the 25th) to review next-generation future technologies. On the 13th, he invited Chung Eui-sun, Executive Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, to the Samsung SDI Cheonan plant for their first exclusive summit, exchanging opinions on the development status and direction of next-generation all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles and exploring future business cooperation opportunities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.