Korea Semiconductor Industry Association Hosts the 13th Semiconductor Day

Large-scale Semiconductor Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration Event Held After 3 Years to Foster Harmony

The venue of the 12th Semiconductor Day held in 2021 / Source=Korea Semiconductor Industry Association

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association held the "15th Semiconductor Day" on the 27th at the InterContinental Seoul COEX. Semiconductor Day is an event held annually since 2008 during the fourth Thursday of October, commemorating the week when semiconductor exports surpassed 10 billion dollars in 1994.

About 440 people attended the event, including Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, government officials, and semiconductor contributors. While the event was held with minimal attendance in 2020 and last year due to the spread of COVID-19, this year, under the slogan "Great Harmony Made Together," industry, academia, and research leaders driving the domestic semiconductor industry, along with award recipients' families, gathered in one place to foster exchange and harmony.

In his welcoming speech, Kwak No-jeong, Chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, emphasized, "Semiconductor technology is the barometer that measures national competitiveness," and added, "The government and companies, large and small enterprises, and industry, academia, and research must unite their efforts to leap forward as a semiconductor superpower."

This year’s event saw a total of 53 government awards, including three medals: Yong-han Lee, Chairman of Wonik, received the Gold Tower Industrial Medal; Jeong-dal Choi, Vice President of SK Hynix, received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal; and Kyung-min Go, Executive Director of Samsung Electronics, received the Bronze Tower Industrial Medal. This is the largest scale ever.

Chairman Lee was awarded the Gold Tower Industrial Medal in recognition of his contributions to the localization of semiconductor process equipment, expanded investment, and active recruitment. Vice President Choi received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal for developing the world's first 128-layer 3D NAND product and contributing to the advancement and exchange of global semiconductor technology. Executive Director Go was awarded the Bronze Tower Industrial Medal for his contributions to the development of the domestic image sensor industry and commercialization of mobile camera products.

Additionally, Sang-kwon Kim, Vice President of DB, who contributed to increased production through innovation and overcoming miniaturization limits by securing process technology, and Jeong-hwan Lee, Vice President of KiPoundry, who contributed to establishing the foundation for domestic semiconductor technology development and increasing exports through foundry process development, each received the Industrial Medal. Professor Joong-ho Choi of the University of Seoul was awarded the Geunjeong Medal for his contributions to integrated circuit technology development and joint technology development and commercialization with fabless companies.

The Presidential Citation was awarded to three individuals, including Hak-jun Ahn, CEO of DS Techno, for contributions to the development of semiconductor manufacturing materials and parts and semiconductor equipment investment. The Prime Minister’s Citation was awarded to four individuals, including Sang-woo Kang, Director of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, for developing core measurement and analysis equipment technology and participating in semiconductor policy formulation. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Citation was awarded to 40 people, including Sun-min Kim, VP of AD Technology.

As a side event, the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association also held the "Semiconductor Scholarship Certificate Award Ceremony." This scholarship program aims to nurture outstanding talent in the semiconductor field and contribute to national industrial development. Since 2006, member companies of the association have selected semiconductor major students and provided scholarships of 10 million won per person. This year, 18 member companies, including SK Hynix, participated and awarded scholarships to a total of 23 students.

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