Government Eases Burden of Replacing Radio Wave Application Equipment in Semiconductor Manufacturing Plants

Ministry of Science and ICT to Implement Revised Notification on 17th
As Part of Detailed Tasks in K-Semiconductor Strategy

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] A revision to the notification easing the burden of change permits for companies operating industrial, scientific, and medical radio wave application equipment is set to be announced.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 15th that it will revise the Central Radio Management Office's notification on "Radio Equipment and Radio Wave Application Facilities That Do Not Require Change Permits" based on this content, and the revision will take effect from the 17th.

This notification revision is part of the detailed implementation tasks of the K-Semiconductor Strategy jointly announced by related ministries on the 31st of last month. It was promoted to ease procedural burdens associated with replacing radio wave application equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing processes.

Radio wave application equipment is used in processes such as heating, cutting, and cleaning objects in fields like industry, science, and medicine. Previously, when installing or changing equipment with an output of 50 watts or more, a change permit and completion inspection had to be obtained according to radio wave laws before use. This process took up to 24 days.

Going forward, with the notification revision, if the replacement is made with radio wave application equipment of the same type and performance as previously permitted within a facility equipped with multi-shielding capable of blocking electromagnetic waves, the change permit can be exempted.

Large-scale industrial factories equipped with multi-shielding facilities include Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, SK Hynix, and LG Display.

Cho Kyung-sik, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "With this notification revision, the omission of change permits and completion inspections for replacing radio wave application equipment will enable uninterrupted equipment operation, which is expected to contribute to the revitalization of the semiconductor and display industries."

Meanwhile, regulations will be relaxed to allow earlier operation of radio wave application equipment that requires completion inspections before operation. First, a revision to the Radio Wave Act, which allows operation upon completion notification and then suspends operation if the equipment fails inspection, has passed the legislative subcommittee stage.

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