[Editor's Note] Merck, a leading science and technology company providing all materials and services for the seven core semiconductor processes, recently invested €600 million in Korea to continuously expand its supply chain and actively build strategic partnerships with customers to grow together. Merck recently participated in SEMICON Korea 2022. At the exhibition, Merck operated a booth to introduce semiconductor solutions, including dynamic gas mixers, and presented various semiconductor technologies, including advanced materials and process technologies, through an online conference. Accordingly, our magazine arranged an interview with Woo-Kyu Kim, CEO of Merck Korea, to learn about Merck's services, investment plans, and technological capabilities.



■ Please give us a brief introduction about Merck.

Founded in 1668, Merck, a leading science and technology company, is a family-owned company engaged in the electronics, life sciences, and healthcare businesses.

Today, approximately 58,000 employees contribute to the development of sustainable solutions that make a positive difference to people's lives, and in 2020, the company generated total sales of €17.5 billion in 66 countries.

Merck is headquartered in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, Germany, and owns the rights to the Merck name and brand in all countries worldwide except Canada and the United States.

On the other hand, Merck & Co., headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA. Inc. has had the rights to the Merck name and brand name since World War I in 1917, and is called 'MSD' or 'Merck Sharp & Dohme' in all other countries except the United States and Canada, and in Korea, it is called MSD Korea or MSD, the American pharmaceutical company.

Please do not confuse MSD, the American pharmaceutical company that is making the oral coronavirus treatment, with the original Merck.

Merck is virtually the only company in the semiconductor ecosystem that is involved in all seven key front-end and back-end processes, from prototyping and patterning to deposition, planarization, etching and cleaning, and back-end packaging.

With the acquisition of Intermolecular, Merck now has customized testing and characterization capabilities, enabling it to accelerate research and development and identify new material needs for its customers, while also providing gas supply equipment to semiconductor factories.

The Korean subsidiary was established through direct investment in 1989 and currently employs approximately 1,450 people at 11 sites in Korea.

Electronics has two research facilities, and Life Sciences has one research facility.

The Electronics business manufactures a wide range of advanced materials for the electronics industry, including display and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as coatings, cosmetics, functional solutions, and effect pigments for the automotive industry. Following the acquisition of Versum Materials and Intermolecular in 2019, the company now possesses a product line and processes capable of contributing to all aspects of the semiconductor process.

In 2021, the department name was changed to Electronics, demonstrating a strategic shift toward the electronics industry.

The healthcare business provides medicines and devices for the treatment of diseases such as immuno-oncology, multiple sclerosis, and infertility.
br /> The Life Sciences business has a broad portfolio of over 300,000 products for protein research, cell biology, antibodies, water purification, and microbiological testing, and provides separation and purification materials, chemicals, and equipment for manufacturing processes in the pharmaceutical and other industries.

■ Last year, Chairman Kai Beckmann visited Korea and announced an investment of approximately €600 million over the next five years. Could you briefly explain this investment plan?

Merck invests heavily in electronics research and development to meet the high demand for innovation in electronic materials, and has always focused on helping customers innovate by staying close to them.

A recent example is the opening of a new technology center in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, in June 2020, with an investment of €25 million, to develop next-generation semiconductor materials.

Additionally, the Delivery Systems and Services (DS&S) business expanded its equipment production capacity in Ansan, Korea. This expansion will enhance Merck's ability to meet the demands of the semiconductor market.

The €600 million announced in October 2021 will also be used for various projects to expand Merck's semiconductor business and OLED production over the next five years.

■ I would like to hear about Merck's advanced material development technology.

Materials are the core of electronic innovation and a key driving force behind future semiconductor development. However, with the advancement of new technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI, and quantum computing, semiconductor development has become more complex and expensive.

Merck not only possesses the knowledge and products required at each stage and can supply the products and solutions customers need, but also helps customers accelerate R&D and problem-solving processes, accelerate development cycles, and achieve innovation faster, contributing to high-volume manufacturing (HVM).

Almost every chip in the world uses at least one Merck product or service.

■ Please introduce Merck's efforts to ensure a stable supply of cutting-edge materials to customers.

Merck's strategy is to support customers' innovations by staying close to them, as evidenced by its global network of local facilities, and a robust supply chain and resilience are key.

We are undertaking expansion projects at our major manufacturing and R&D sites around the world, ensuring sufficient product availability close to our customers through a combination of production, warehouse expansion, and inventory management.

To improve supply chain visibility and information sharing, Merck announced a new partnership with Palantir Technologies in 2021 to deliver Athinia, a secure data analytics collaboration platform for the semiconductor industry.

The Athinia platform leverages AI and big data to enable semiconductor manufacturers and materials suppliers to share, aggregate, and analyze data in one place, and has already proven successful in minimizing quality issues and improving efficiency for customers.

We manage an efficient supply chain, leveraging our strong global network and local branches, maintaining high inventory levels and maintaining close strategic relationships with companies that supply Merck products.

■ If there is a product or technology you would like to introduce at this year's Semicon Korea, please introduce it.

EUV technology enables new, complex, and energy-efficient chip designs, driving chip miniaturization and enabling next-generation devices, thereby increasing overall demand for semiconductor materials.

Merck possesses its own technologies for rinses, EUV underlayers, and metal photoresist precursors (metal oxide precursors) for EUV, which are absolutely essential for the EUV process. It also supports the production of precision semiconductor chips based on EUV-specific materials by adding directed self-assembly (DSA) technology to EUV photolithography.

Additionally, DSA can significantly reduce the complexity of new computer chip production methods and lower manufacturing costs, contributing to the optimization of manufacturing costs through the DSA process.



■ Lastly, please say a word to the readers.

At the 2022 SEMICON Korea Conference, Merck, as the only company participating in all seven core semiconductor processes, will begin with a keynote speech titled 'AI in Semiconductor Manufacturing and the Way Forward', followed by a total of five speakers on Smart Manufacturing., Advanced Lithography, Advanced Materials & Process Tech, Plasma Science and Etching Tech, CMP & Cleaning Tech, etc., will present strategies and best practices to maintain business continuity.

We ask for your continued interest in how the semiconductor industry will leverage smart manufacturing to achieve future success.

thank you