[Report] Crowds from the First Morning... 'Semicon Korea 2024' Raises Expectations for the 'Semiconductor Boom'

500 Companies, Over 2100 Booths Set Up
Talent Acquisition Battle Through Job Fair

This Year’s Semiconductor Market Led by Memory
D-RAM Expected to Grow 50%, NAND 32%

Kim Chunhwan, SK Hynix Vice Chairman, Keynote Speech
"HBM Growth Rate 40%... Mass Production of HBM4 in 2026"
"400-Layer NAND Hybrid Bonding Applied"

On the 31st, 'SEMICON Korea 2024,' the largest semiconductor industry exhibition in Korea, was held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The event, which runs for three days across all exhibition halls at COEX, drew large crowds from the opening day, resulting in long lines for entry and creating a spectacular scene. Cho Hyun-dae, CEO of SEMI Korea, predicted, "Last year, 60,000 people visited, and this year, it is expected that 65,000 will attend."

Held under the theme "Innovation Beyond Boundaries," SEMICON Korea 2024 features 500 companies including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, ASML, and Tokyo Electron (TEL), operating over 2,100 booths. Representatives from major semiconductor companies worldwide, including Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and the Netherlands, actively engaged with customers and sought top talent in preparation for a rebound in the global semiconductor market this year.

On the 31st, 'SEMICON Korea 2024,' the largest semiconductor industry exhibition in Korea, was held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. 'SEMICON Korea 2024' features participation from 500 companies including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, ASML, and Tokyo Electron (TEL), with over 2,100 booths in operation.
[Photo by Han Yeju]

On the day, global companies such as ASML and HITACHI set up separate areas within their booths for recruitment activities, including job briefings. It was easy to spot job seekers eagerly waiting their turn with excitement.

Experts forecast steady growth in the semiconductor market starting this year. Some projections suggest the market will exceed $1 trillion (1,334 trillion KRW) by 2030.

At 'Semicon Korea 2024' held on the 31st, visitors are crowding around Japan's HITACHI.
[Photo by Han Yeju]

Andrea Lati, a researcher at TechInsights, stated, "Memory will drive growth this year," adding, "After facing difficulties since 2022, memory is expected to achieve double-digit growth this year." She predicted growth rates of 50% for DRAM and 32% for NAND flash.

Capital expenditures (CAPEX) are also expected to increase by 2% compared to the previous year. Samsung Electronics remains the largest investor. Lati explained, "Samsung Electronics had the highest spending last year and is expected to maintain that this year. Over the past decade, Samsung has consistently made the largest CAPEX investments."

A representative from a semiconductor equipment company present at the event also expressed optimism about benefiting from increased capital investments by major memory companies this year. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the representative said, "Last year, memory companies accumulated significant losses, and demand from some customers has not fully returned, but there are signs of increased equipment investment for products like HBM. Given the difficulties last year, we have high expectations for this year."

Kim Chun-hwan, Vice President of SK Hynix, is delivering the keynote speech at 'Semicon Korea 2024' held on the 31st.
[Photo by Han Ye-ju]

Meanwhile, SK Hynix announced plans to release the 5th generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), HBM3E, this year and HBM4 in 2026.

Kim Chun-hwan, Vice President of SK Hynix and keynote speaker at SEMICON Korea 2024, said, "With increasing semiconductor demand this year, we will engage in fierce competition to provide memory that meets customer needs," adding, "As the AI computing era arrives, the HBM market growth rate is expected to reach 40% by 2025."

He also announced plans to apply hybrid bonding technology to the development of 400-layer NAND flash. Vice President Kim stated, "Hybrid bonding is rapidly emerging as a game changer in next-generation HBM, DRAM, and NAND sectors. Research and development are underway to integrate hybrid bonding into 3D DRAM, and especially in NAND, we are developing a next-generation platform with improved cost-effectiveness and mass production capability using hybrid bonding technology for 400-layer products."