Semiconductor 'Determination' Choi Tae-won... SK Siltron Also Aims for World No.1 with 'Full Attack'

3-Year Investment of 1.0495 Trillion Won in Wafer Expansion... Why?

[Asia Economy Reporters Sunmi Park, Minjae Kwak] SK Siltron's decision to invest a total of 1.0495 trillion KRW over three years to expand its 300mm wafer production was driven by the need to respond to the rapidly increasing semiconductor demand and the resulting wafer supply shortage in the market. SK Siltron's aggressive investment strategy, aimed at becoming the global number one wafer company, has been strongly supported by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who is deeply committed to semiconductor investments.

◆Making money by producing... wafer shortage amid surging semiconductor demand= SK Siltron's recent investment decision is interpreted as a proactive response to the soaring global semiconductor wafer demand and continuous supply requests from its customers.

On the 16th, Jang Yong-ho, President of SK Siltron, stated regarding the 300mm wafer expansion investment plan, "This expansion investment is a challenging move based on accurate market environment forecasts and agile responses. Through technological innovation in collaboration with global semiconductor companies, we aim to establish high-quality wafer manufacturing capabilities and leap forward as a global leader in the wafer industry."

With continuous expansion of investments in data centers and rapid growth in 5G and electric vehicle markets?both heavy users of semiconductors?semiconductor demand has surged, prompting manufacturers to aggressively invest in facilities. As a result, wafers, the core material for semiconductor substrates, are facing direct supply shortages. SK Siltron has already been producing at maximum monthly capacity for the past two years.

Global wafer manufacturers forecast supply shortages to persist at least until 2026. In January this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce released results from a survey of over 150 semiconductor supply chain companies, identifying wafer supply shortages as a primary cause of the semiconductor shortage phenomenon.

◆Chairman Chey Tae-won's ‘steadfast’ semiconductor investment... growth follows his lead= SK Siltron's growth is considered one of Chairman Chey’s representative semiconductor investment successes, alongside SK Hynix, which was acquired 10 years ago. SK Group acquired SK Siltron from LG Group in 2017 for about 1 trillion KRW. At that time, the company’s sales had stagnated at around 830 billion KRW since 2007, showing no growth for a decade.

However, after joining SK Group, SK Siltron focused on intensive facility investments until 2018, expanding its 12-inch silicon wafer production capacity. This resulted in a 44% surge in sales to approximately 1.35 trillion KRW in 2018 compared to the previous year. Since then, SK Siltron has maintained double-digit annual sales growth.

An industry insider said, "SK Siltron has transformed completely since being acquired by SK Group. It is now a core wafer supplier in the domestic semiconductor industry and maintains technological leadership by collaborating with customers on advanced process development."

Previously focused on silicon wafer production, SK Siltron expanded its business area in March 2020 by acquiring the Silicon Carbide (SiC) wafer division of DuPont in the U.S., targeting next-generation power semiconductor materials. This move also enjoys full support from Chairman Chey, who plans to invest over 100 trillion KRW in eco-friendly businesses. Recently, SK Siltron’s U.S. subsidiary announced plans to invest approximately 320 million USD in the SiC wafer business, which can improve electric vehicle energy efficiency.

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