Yoon Attends Official Welcome Ceremony in the Netherlands with State Honors

Held at Dam Square in Amsterdam, home to the Dutch Royal Palace
Military honor guard inspection after national anthem... wreath-laying at war memorial planned

President Yoon Suk-yeol began his official state visit schedule on the 12th (local time) with an official welcoming ceremony in the Netherlands.

President Yoon and his wife Kim Keon-hee were warmly received as state guests at the official welcoming ceremony held at Dam Square in Amsterdam, where the Dutch Royal Palace is located. The ceremony was hosted by King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is moving to review the honor guard with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands at the official welcoming ceremony held at Dam Square in Amsterdam on the 12th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Dutch honor guard fired 21 gun salutes as President Yoon and King Alexander ascended the podium to pay respects. Following this, the South Korean national anthem and the Dutch national anthem were played in sequence, and President Yoon, together with King Alexander, inspected the royal honor guard. President Yoon and Mrs. Kim then moved to the Dutch Royal Palace to greet the official delegation.

Afterwards, President Yoon laid a wreath at the war memorial honoring the victims of World War II and then moved to the palace for a friendly luncheon with the King and Queen.

On the same day, a schedule was set for visiting the heads of domestic semiconductor companies and ASML, the world's only advanced semiconductor equipment manufacturer. President Yoon had previously announced, "The visit to ASML will be an important turning point in the ‘Korea-Netherlands semiconductor alliance’ relationship." During the visit to ASML, the sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment in the world, detailed plans are expected to be discussed to maximize the complementarity of the semiconductor value chain by combining the capabilities of semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. President Yoon will inspect the production site of the latest lithography equipment to be released next year with ASML CEO Peter Wennink, and discuss cooperation plans in professional workforce training and next-generation technology research and development with key semiconductor companies including ASML. Since ASML monopolizes the global market for lithography equipment essential for ultra-fine semiconductor processes, this presents a significant opportunity to greatly expand Korea’s semiconductor supply chain.

President Yoon will be the first foreign head of state to visit ASML’s cleanroom. King Willem Alexander, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will also attend. The cleanroom is a special room designed to minimize dust and particulate matter in the indoor air and to control indoor pressure, humidity, temperature, airflow distribution, and speed within a certain range. IT-related products such as semiconductors and displays are all manufactured in cleanrooms.

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