Kai Beckmann, a board member and CEO of Merck Electronics, a leading science and technology company, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung agreed to promote mutual cooperation to expand Merck Electronics' investment in the province and continuously foster talent in the semiconductor and display industries.

Merck Electronics announced on the 13th that CEO Kai Beckmann and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung held a video conference.

At this event, CEO Kai Beckmann said, “Merck’s electronics business plans to continue supporting Korean customers based in Gyeonggi Province, a hub for semiconductor and display research and manufacturing. “We will grow together for the success of our customers and ensure timely, stable, and sustainable product development and supply,” he said. “To achieve this, we are considering investing more than 200 million euros (approximately 250 billion won) in Gyeonggi Province over the next five years,” he said, asking for Gyeonggi Province’s cooperation.

Governor Lee Jae-myung responded, “I am grateful that Merck has made significant investments for a long time, which has greatly contributed to the development of the local economy and job creation in Gyeonggi Province.” He added, “I hope that through further investments, Merck’s development and the local economy can be achieved simultaneously in Gyeonggi Province.”

Last October, Merck Electronics signed an investment agreement to invest over 20 million euros (approximately 25 billion won) in its Pyeongtaek Poseung plant to expand its LCD testing components plant and OLED light-emitting materials plant, and the project is currently progressing smoothly.

In addition, as part of the ESG program, the company expressed its intention to support semiconductor display-related technical education for students majoring in related fields at technical high schools and universities in Gyeonggi Province, and plans to work with Gyeonggi Province to foster semiconductor and display talent.

Merck Electronics, a subsidiary of the 353-year-old German conglomerate Merck, is responsible for research and manufacturing semiconductor and display materials worldwide. In Gyeonggi Province, it employs 800 people across six research and manufacturing facilities in Pyeongtaek, Anseong, Ansan, Sihwa, and Banwol. Currently, Merck Korea has over 1,350 employees working at 11 sites.

In addition to research and manufacturing display liquid crystals and OLED light-emitting materials, the company has also been researching and manufacturing high value-added items for semiconductors and displays, including semiconductor materials such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) slurries and equipment manufacturing since the acquisition of AZ, Sigma-Aldrich SAFC, and Versum Materials in 2014.

Since entering the Korean market in 1989, Merck has achieved remarkable growth in the display and semiconductor sectors over the past 32 years. In addition to electronic materials, the company has become a global leader in life sciences and healthcare, recording sales of KRW 1.8 trillion (€1.35 billion) in Korea in 2019.