As global efforts to secure the semiconductor supply chain and lead technology grow, a forum has been opened to discuss building a cooperative semiconductor ecosystem between government-funded research institutes and special zone companies.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM, President Park Sang-jin) under the Ministry of Science and ICT held a meeting on advanced system semiconductor technology leadership strategies between government-funded research institutes and special zone companies at KIMM on September 1.

This symposium, co-hosted by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, the National Research Council of Science and Technology, and the Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation, was designed as a forum for in-depth discussions on leading strategies for advanced system semiconductor technology, with participation from people from all walks of life, including Daejeon City, leading companies in the domestic semiconductor ecosystem, and government-funded research institutes.

The presentation began with the 'Package Leading Strategy for Semiconductor Super-Gap Competitiveness' by Kim Hyung-jun, head of the Next Generation Intelligent Semiconductor Business Unit, followed by presentations on the current status of semiconductor technology development and development strategies by Lee Jae-hak, head of the Semiconductor Equipment Innovation Center at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, and Heo Min, senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials.

In the following meeting, representatives from Daejeon City, government agencies, and semiconductor companies participated and discussed ways to build a semiconductor win-win cooperation ecosystem, including sharing the roadmap for the entire semiconductor component-equipment-process cycle, development, and performance verification, and opinions on discovering new industry themes.

President Park Sang-jin said, “Amid the difficulties in the semiconductor industry due to the export restrictions on major semiconductor equipment caused by the exclusion from Japan’s whitelist, the semiconductor shortage triggered by automotive semiconductors, and the US-China semiconductor hegemony war, many countries are pursuing all-out wars and fostering policies at the national level to secure the semiconductor supply chain and lead technology.” He added, “The year of the machine tool industry is a key national effort to secure semiconductor equipment.” He said, “We will effectively secure core technologies and develop process innovation technologies.”