Gumi City Completes 100% Localization of Design and Construction for 'Ultrapure Water Demonstration Plant'

At the SK Siltron 'Ultrapure Water Demonstration Plant' located in Gumi City, Gyeongbuk, the prospect of 100% domestic completion of design and construction by the end of the year has further strengthened the designation of Gumi as a semiconductor specialized complex.

Ultrapure water refers to water with impurities close to 0%. Since impurities in the water used to clean semiconductor wafers can cause issues with yield and other factors, ultrapure water is an essential material in semiconductor processes.

As the global semiconductor market competes at the nano (one-billionth) scale and wafer linewidths become smaller, ultrapure water becomes increasingly important.

Currently, ultrapure water facilities in semiconductor factories of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are designed by Japanese ultrapure water companies, use Japanese or American equipment, and rely on Japanese companies for analysis.

In response, the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Water Resources Corporation selected a project in June 2021 to break away from dependence on Japan and are making every effort to domesticize ultrapure water. In early February, President Yoon Suk-yeol also recognized its importance and inspected the 'Ultrapure Water Demonstration Plant' at the SK Siltron factory in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, accelerating progress. Currently, they have succeeded in supplying 1,200 tons of ultrapure water per day and passed performance verification, so domestically produced ultrapure water is expected to be actively supplied starting in May.

President Yoon Seol-yeol inspecting the 'Ultra-Pure Water Demonstration Plant' inside the Gumi SK Siltron factory.

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As the results of ultrapure water domesticization become visible, the importance of designating Gumi, the center of ultrapure water domesticization, as a semiconductor specialized complex is also highlighted.

Mayor Kim Jang-ho stated, “If Gumi is designated as a national advanced strategic industry (semiconductor) specialized complex, it will contribute to accelerating domesticization by strengthening support for ultrapure water domesticization, as competing countries such as the United States, China, Japan, and the European Union fiercely compete to strengthen their semiconductor supply chains and secure future markets within their own countries.”

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