Chey Tae-won Heads to Taiwan on Business Trip, May Meet TSMC... Successors' Consecutive Global Moves

Departed for Taiwan Earlier This Week
Expected to Meet with Local Semiconductor Companies
Traveling Across the World Including the US and Vietnam
Lee Jaeyong Continues Global Management in China and Japan

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (and Chairman of SK Group), has embarked on a business trip to Taiwan. Attention is focused on whether he will meet with local semiconductor companies, including TSMC, the world’s leading foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company, amid the global competition for technological supremacy.

On the 10th, a business circle official stated, "Chairman Choi departed for Taiwan earlier this week for SK-related schedules" and added, "He is currently on a business trip." According to business sources, Chairman Choi is expected to meet with local semiconductor companies during this Taiwan trip.

This is Chairman Choi’s first visit to Taiwan in 10 months since June last year. At that time, he met with Wei Zhejia, Chairman of TSMC, together with Kwak No-jung, President of SK Hynix, in Taipei, Taiwan. During that meeting, Chairman Choi agreed to strengthen cooperation between TSMC and SK Hynix in the field of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). This year as well, Chairman Choi is expected to meet with TSMC and other Taiwanese semiconductor companies.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (left) is taking a commemorative photo with Wei Zhejia, Chairman of TSMC, at the TSMC headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 6 last year (local time). Provided by SK Group, Yonhap News Agency.

SK Hynix, which recently became the world’s number one in the DRAM market, is emphasizing technological cooperation with TSMC. Last year, SK Hynix signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TSMC in April to develop HBM4 and enhance advanced packaging technology capabilities. SK Hynix plans to utilize TSMC’s leading-edge logic process for base die production, which acts as the brain, to improve HBM4 performance. SK Hynix will also participate in a technology symposium hosted by TSMC on the 23rd (local time) in Santa Clara, California, USA.

Chairman Choi’s visit to Taiwan is also interpreted as a move to seek new opportunities amid the Trump-era 'tariff bomb' and the intensifying competition in semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI). Since last year, SK Group has been actively restructuring its business to invest in the future growth area of AI through rebalancing and operational improvements. Starting with his attendance at CES 2025, the world’s largest electronics and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA, in January this year, he has been traveling extensively around the world, including Vietnam and the United States in February.

Amid rapidly changing global circumstances, recent global activities of corporate leaders continue. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong also visited Xiaomi’s electric vehicle factory in Beijing and BYD’s headquarters in Shenzhen last month. On the 2nd, he departed for Japan, where Samsung Electronics’ material and component partners are located, and stayed for seven nights and eight days. Samsung Electronics recently established the 'Advanced Packaging Lab (APL),' a semiconductor packaging technology research center in Japan, and is strengthening cooperation with Japanese material, component, and equipment companies.

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