DuPont, a U.S. chemical materials company, is planning to invest $28 million (about 32.5 billion) by next year to build a photoresist development and production plant for EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) in South Korea.
Photoresist for EUV is an export-regulated item that Japan announced to Korea in July last year and Korea has relied on imports from Japan for more than 90 percent of its total products. Analysts say that South Korea has prepared new suppliers for major semiconductor materials and has set the stage for accelerating ‘departure from Japan’.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that DuPont has finalized its plan to build a "photoresist development and production facility for EUV" in South Korea and submitted an investment declaration to KOTRA.
Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo held a private meeting with DuPont President Jon Kemp in Silicon Valley on Jan. 9 and concluded talks on investing $28 million in photoresist for EUV. As a result, DuPont is planning to complete its investment by next year and establish photoresist and CMP pad development and production facilities for EUV in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
In addition, it is understood that the ministry is negotiating further with the company to procure raw materials necessary for the development and production of photoresist for EUV in Korea. Because there is a high possibility that material items that DuPont develops and produces in South Korea will be added, final amount of investment is expected to increase to more than $28 million.
South Korean semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and others imported about 90 percent of their total supplies from Japanese companies such as JSR, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and TOK.
"We contacted DuPont while looking at the trends of its plan to supply such semiconductor products after Japan’s export regulations, and we formed a task force with local governments and KOTRA to actively negotiate investment, and Korea was selected as the final destination for investment," said an industry ministry official.
