Gwak No-jeong, Chairman of the Semiconductor Association, "Large-scale Support Needed for Semiconductor Complex Infrastructure" (Comprehensive)

17th Semiconductor Day Ceremony
'Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit' Park Kyung-soo, Chairman of PSK

On the 22nd, Park Kyung-su, CEO of PSK, received the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contributions to the localization of semiconductor equipment at the '2024 Semiconductor Day' ceremony. Photo by Choi Seo-yoon

Park Kyung-soo, CEO of PSK, received the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contributions to the localization of semiconductor equipment at the ‘2024 Semiconductor Day’ commemorative ceremony.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association held the ‘Semiconductor Day’ ceremony on the 22nd at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Marking its 17th anniversary this year, 'Semiconductor Day' was established in 2008 to promote the achievements and status of the semiconductor industry both domestically and internationally. It was created to commemorate October 1994, when Korea’s annual semiconductor exports surpassed 10 billion dollars.

Kwack No-jung, Chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association and CEO of SK Hynix, said in his opening remarks, “Due to the nature of the semiconductor industry, delayed investment timing lowers cost competitiveness, so large-scale support for timely investment is necessary,” adding, “We must actively support infrastructure to ensure there are no issues in line with the semiconductor cluster construction plan.”

On the 22nd, Kwak No-jeong, Chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association and CEO of SK Hynix, delivered the opening address at the 17th Semiconductor Day ceremony. Photo by Choi Seo-yoon

Chairman Kwack emphasized, “As important as semiconductor manufacturing facilities and infrastructure is the human resource,” noting, “About 150,000 specialized personnel will be needed over the next 10 years, but the supply reality does not meet this demand.” He added, “More support is needed for universities, research institutes, and research and development (R&D) related to the semiconductor field so that talented individuals choose and can conduct research in this area.”

Park Kyung-soo, Pioneer of Semiconductor Localization, Highlights Need for SoBuJang Workforce Development

At the event, Park, CEO of PSK, was recognized for not only localizing semiconductor equipment but also expanding facility investments to induce job creation, earning the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit. PSK has held the world’s number one market share in the Dry Strip field for 11 years and achieved exports worth 200 million dollars.

Park expressed his gratitude for the congratulations and shared his commitment to nurturing talent. He said, “The SoBuJang (materials, parts, and equipment) sector is seriously lacking manpower,” and added, “I hope to create a turning point for nurturing talent.” He also stated, “We will establish programs and scholarship funds to attract talent to these fields and prepare incentives.”

Following this, SK Hynix Vice President Choi Jun-gi received the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit, and Gaon Chips CEO Jeong Kyu-dong received the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit, among a total of 82 government awardees. Vice President Choi was recognized for expanding the production ratio of premium products such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) to meet the growing global demand for HBM and for contributing to the localization of high-cost materials, parts, and equipment. CEO Jeong was praised for contributing to the co-growth of fabless and foundry sectors by establishing a total solution system for the system semiconductor industry.

Kwak No-jeong, Chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association and President of SK Hynix, is answering reporters' questions before attending the '17th Semiconductor Day' event held on the 22nd at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

SK Hynix’s Kwack No-jung Optimistic About AI Market... “No Disruption in HBM Supply”

Before the event, Chairman Kwack told reporters that when asked whether there would be any disruption in the supply plan of the 5th generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) 3E 12-stack product depending on the mass production and shipment timing of Nvidia’s AI accelerator in the U.S., he said, “I cannot disclose that,” but added, “Shipment and supply schedules will proceed as planned.”

Regarding concerns about Chinese companies catching up and potential oversupply, he said he was not greatly worried. Kwack stated, “The AI market next year looks quite promising, but the rest need to be seen. (PC and mobile) growth is slowing and feels stagnant, but I expect some improvement next year thanks to AI.”

When asked about collaboration with IMEC on AI and next-generation memory, he was reserved, saying, “It is difficult to disclose business-related details.” On CXL and next-generation AI memory semiconductors, he said, “We (SK Hynix) are visibly releasing products according to customer demand,” adding, “By around next year, such product launches will become more apparent.”

On the 22nd, Park Yong-in, President of Samsung Electronics System LSI Division, is giving a toast at the 17th Semiconductor Day ceremony. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Park Yong-in, President of Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division, who attended the event, briefly responded to questions about Samsung Electronics’ performance outlook for the second half of the year by saying, “We are monitoring the situation.” Regarding the Exynos 2500 yield issues and HBM4 logic die design, Park only said, “We will work hard.”

Ko Dong-jin, a member of the People Power Party and former Samsung Electronics executive, commented on the Samsung Electronics crisis theory, saying, “Samsung Electronics has always had good and bad times,” and added, “It has self-correcting capabilities, so it will improve soon.”