Lee Jae-yong Attends Pyeongtaek 2nd Plant Foundry Equipment Delivery Ceremony for 'First On-site Management of the New Year'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who traveled to domestic and international business sites last year, visited the semiconductor foundry equipment import ceremony at Pyeongtaek Plant 2 on the 4th as his first on-site management activity of the new year.

Lee’s visit to Pyeongtaek Plant 2, which is at the forefront of Samsung Electronics' 'Semiconductor Vision 2030,' on the first working day of the new year is interpreted as a sign of strengthening semiconductor equipment investment and unwaveringly advancing toward the goal of becoming the world’s number one in system semiconductors.

Pyeongtaek Plant 2 is an advanced integrated production line producing DRAM, next-generation V-NAND, and ultra-fine foundry products. Samsung Electronics, after producing memory semiconductors last year, has started importing equipment for foundry production this year.

The event was attended by Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, President Choi Si-young of the Foundry Business Division, as well as five representatives from partner companies including ▲Chairman Lee Yong-han of Wonik IPS ▲Vice Chairman Park Kyung-soo of PSK ▲CEO Lee Woo-kyung of ASML Korea ▲Vice Chairman Lee Jun-hyuk of Dongjin Semichem ▲Chairman Jung Ji-wan of Solbrain. Samsung Electronics minimized the number of attendees to fewer than 10 considering the recent spread of COVID-19 infections and conducted the event in strict compliance with quarantine guidelines.

Vice Chairman Lee received reports on ▲the construction and operation status of Pyeongtaek Line 2 ▲semiconductor investment and hiring status ▲joint projects with partner companies, inspected the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) dedicated line essential for implementing ultra-fine semiconductor circuits, and then visited the construction site of Pyeongtaek Plant 3 to encourage employees. He also discussed ways to foster the domestic semiconductor ecosystem and enhance mutual cooperation with partner company representatives attending the equipment import ceremony.

Lee announced the 'Semiconductor Vision 2030' in 2019 and has been directly overseeing the system semiconductor business. Samsung Electronics plans to invest 133 trillion won by 2030 to achieve the world’s number one position in system semiconductors.

Contrary to initial expectations that his management activities would be restrained due to judicial risks, Lee devoted himself to on-site management last year as well.

In January last year, Lee’s first on-site management visit was to the semiconductor research center at Samsung Electronics Hwaseong Plant. In February, he visited the EUV line at Hwaseong Plant; in May, the semiconductor factory in Xi’an, China; in June, the Hwaseong semiconductor factory and semiconductor subsidiary Semes in Chungnam. In October, he traveled to the Netherlands to meet with ASML executives to discuss the introduction of semiconductor equipment.

Additionally, he visited Samsung Electronics’ Gumi Plant, Hanoi Plant in Vietnam, Seoul Research and Development (R&D) Center, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Busan Plant, and Samsung SDI Cheonan Plant, urging challenges and innovation. A business community official evaluated, “Lee’s first step in fulfilling his promise made in his final statement at the December 30th retrial of the National Pension Service scandal to ‘only work to increase company value and contribute to society.’”

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics is implementing various programs to expand the domestic semiconductor ecosystem, including partner companies, small and medium fabless (semiconductor design specialists), and design houses, to contribute to the domestic system semiconductor ecosystem.

Accordingly, Samsung Electronics is leading the development of the domestic system semiconductor ecosystem through ▲joint development of equipment and materials with partner companies ▲expansion of incentives for excellent partners ▲support for domestic fabless and technical education ▲expansion of cooperation with design houses ▲cultivation of excellent talent through expanded industry-academia cooperation ▲semiconductor win-win funds.

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