Semiconductor Industry Turns Around after its Worst Recession

Those in the industry pledge to make another leap forward at the 2nd Semiconductor Day anniversary

The Korean semiconductor industry looks for a renaissance following its worst recession. The semiconductor industry had been synonymous with a key exporting industry since the 1990s. However, the industry suffered a setback recently, suffering its worst recession ― a plummet in prices caused by an oversupply, a drop in demand and the global economic downturn.
Approximately 500 people from the government, the semiconductor industry and other walks of life assembled at the Yeouido 63 City International Conference Room on Oct. 29 to celebrate the 2nd Semiconductor Day. The participants included Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan, Rep. Noh Young-min and Rep. Kim Tae-hwan, both from the National Assembly Knowledge Economy Committee, Kwon Oh-hyun, chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) and concurrently Samsung Electronics Semiconductor president.
The anniversary event consisted of an official ceremony, the awarding of special contribution awards, the offering of semiconductor scholarships and the presenting of performance evaluation certificates. The mood at the anniversary event was festive as the domestic semiconductor industry has been picking up speed to recover from the recession.











KSIA Chairman Kwon said in his welcoming message, “This year, marking the 2nd Semiconductor Day anniversary, is a significant year for the domestic semiconductor industry, which is entering a turnaround phase, recovering in earnest from the long-lasting economic downturn.” He called for those in the industry to put their hearts and souls into continuously nurturing the semiconductor industry into a key industrial sector of the Korean economy in the future by renewing the industry through the endless technological development of memory chips and the systematic cultivation of system on chip (SoC).
Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi in his commemorative speech praised the unswerving contributions on the part of those in the industry and urged the industry to make itself into a “green technology core” by stepping up the competitive edge of environmentally-friendly, futuristic and intelligent semiconductors and expanding co-prosperity collaboration between large corporations and SMEs.
During the anniversary ceremony, 39 people were presented with diverse orders and awards in recognition of their contribution to the development of the industry.
Choi Jin-shuk, executive vice president of Hynix Semiconductors Inc., was honored with the Order of Industrial Service, Silver Tower, in recognition of his involvement in the development of the world’s first 300mm fabrication process and his leading roles in the development of 16M- and 256-M DRAMs. Kim Dal-soo, president and CEO of TLI, was decorated with the Order of Industrial Service, Stone Tower, for developing an original IP technology for which Korea has so far depended on foreign countries.
Seoul National University Emeritus Prof. Lee Jong-duck was awarded with the Special Contribution Award of the 2nd Semiconductor Day anniversary following KSIA honorary chairman Kim Kwang-ho, who received the award at last year’s inaugural event. He was credited with playing leading roles in the establishment of the Joint Seoul National University Semiconductor Research Institute and expanding changes between industry and research circles as he held such positions as the chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Academic Forum Standing Committee. nw

Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan speaks at the 2nd Semiconductor Day anniversary event.

Government, industry and research institute representative, including MKE Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and Samsung Electronics Semiconductor President Kwon Oh-hyun, attending the 2nd Semiconductor Day anniversary event.