'Not Even a Moment Can Stop'... Semiconductor Factory Lit Up During Seol Festival

Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Production Line

Even on Seollal, the biggest holiday in Korea, semiconductor production lines keep running without shutting down. Due to the nature of the process, even a brief stop can cause enormous losses.

According to industry sources on the 25th, semiconductor production lines at Samsung Electronics' Hwaseong, Giheung, and Pyeongtaek plants, as well as SK Hynix's Icheon and Cheongju plants, are operating at 100% capacity even on Seollal.

An official from the semiconductor industry said, "There is no change in the operation of semiconductor production lines even during the Seollal holiday." It is known that production line workers are working shifts as usual.

The continuous operation of the production lines is related to the semiconductor manufacturing process. Semiconductors are completed through dozens of delicate processes including photolithography, etching, and deposition. Since semiconductor production equipment uses sensitive materials, stopping the process even briefly can require 2 to 3 days for recovery work to readjust the production line settings.

Samsung Electronics' Giheung plant experienced a 14-minute power outage in July last year, and the Hwaseong plant had a 1-minute outage in December last year, causing disruptions in some semiconductor production. Industry experts estimated the losses at tens to hundreds of billions of won at that time.

With expectations that the semiconductor market will be active this year, factories are expected to operate even busier. There is growing optimism that the semiconductor market will thrive this year.

Industry experts, including those from the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, have recently released reports stating that the resumption of investments by advanced countries following the Phase 1 US-China trade agreement, the development of the electronics industry such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), and the expansion of data centers by global IT companies will have a positive impact on the semiconductor market this year.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that out of last year's total exports of $542.33 billion (631.7 trillion won), semiconductor exports amounted to $95.16 billion (approximately 110.8 trillion won), accounting for 17.5% of total exports.