Battery→Display→電場 Subsidiaries Tour by Lee Jae-yong..."Sobu-jang is Samsung"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, is continuing an unusual on-site management tour, visiting not only the flagship Samsung Electronics but also display and component affiliates. While Vice Chairman Lee has occasionally visited group affiliates privately, this is the first time he has publicly announced such visits. This move is seen as an effort by the group head to personally oversee the localization of the materials, components, and equipment industry, which gained momentum following Japan's export restrictions, raising awareness and demonstrating a determination to secure next-generation technologies in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, including autonomous driving.

According to industry sources on the 17th, Vice Chairman Lee recently visited Samsung SDI, followed by Samsung Display and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, closely inspecting their business sites over the past two months. During a same-day visit to Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Busan plant the day before, he reportedly thoroughly toured the entire site, which spans 264,462 square meters (80,000 pyeong). This marks about a year since Vice Chairman Lee last engaged in on-site management at Samsung Electro-Mechanics, when he held a management meeting at the Suwon plant in June last year. Notably, this is the first time his visit to the Busan plant has been exposed to the media.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Busan plant primarily produces multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for automotive and IT applications, as well as next-generation package substrates. In response to the development of information and communication technology (ICT) such as 5th generation mobile communication (5G) and artificial intelligence (AI), the spread of electric and autonomous vehicles, and the increasing demand for automotive electronic components, Samsung Electro-Mechanics established a dedicated production plant for automotive MLCCs in Busan in 2018. MLCCs, often called the "rice of the electronics industry," are key components that control the steady flow of current in electronic product circuits such as semiconductors.

On this day, Vice Chairman Lee received reports from management on the development status of next-generation electronic components, including high-temperature and high-pressure MLCCs for automotive use, high-performance and high-capacity MLCCs for smart devices, and communication and camera modules, and discussed mid- to long-term response strategies. He repeatedly urged, "The pace of change is accelerating, so let's lead innovation at the forefront," and "Do not be discouraged by uncertainty; keep challenging continuously."

The future technology field that Vice Chairman Lee is particularly interested in is "batteries." With the advent of the autonomous driving era, the importance of batteries is expected to increase, and he is regularly monitoring industry technology trends, including next-generation batteries being developed by Samsung SDI. In May, he reportedly met with Chung Eui-sun, Executive Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, at Samsung SDI's Cheonan plant and personally explained solid-state battery technology. Vice Chairman Lee and Executive Vice Chairman Chung are scheduled to hold a second meeting as early as next week at Namyang Research Institute, Hyundai-Kia's R&D hub, drawing attention to whether they will present specific collaboration models.

With Vice Chairman Lee's support, Samsung SDI aims to secure market leadership in the fiercely competitive market by developing next-generation products such as solid-state batteries beyond lithium-ion batteries. To this end, it is focusing on key tasks such as developing materials that determine battery performance, establishing smart factories, building platform development systems, and enhancing production efficiency.

The display sector is the second most closely monitored core business after semiconductors. Last month, amid ongoing judicial procedures including prosecution investigations, Vice Chairman Lee made a private visit to Samsung Display's business site. In August last year, three days before the Supreme Court ruling on the national corruption scandal, he visited Samsung Display's Asan plant and strongly urged not to hesitate in the face of China's volume offensive and to maintain Samsung's technological leadership through next-generation display development. In October of the same year, at the same location with President Moon Jae-in in attendance, a new investment plan of 13 trillion won in the next-generation display sector by 2025 was announced. At that time, President Moon expressed gratitude toward Samsung, including Vice Chairman Lee, six times and hoped that Samsung Display's new investment would be the starting point for the independence of materials, parts, and equipment.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is visiting the automotive MLCC production plant located at Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Busan plant on the 16th, inspecting MLCC products.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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