The Korean government sees eye to eye with major Korean semiconductor giants, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, regarding developing advanced packaging technology for semiconductors.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on Aug. 29 that it signed an agreement with semiconductor companies and organizations to cooperate on advanced packaging technology development. Korea leads the world in memory semiconductor manufacturing, but is lagging behind the U.S. and Taiwan in the system semiconductor sector.
To grow system semiconductors, it is necessary to set up an ecosystem by developing specialized companies in each of the fabless, packaging, foundry, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) sectors. While Korea excels in the foundry sector based on its semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, it does not in the rest of the sectors, so the government is strengthening its support for Korean companies in the rest of the sectors with policies.
Semiconductor packaging is a technology that bundles circuits for different applications designed by fables companies. As semiconductor process miniaturization reaches the limit of packing more technologies into the same-sized area, the technology to develop multifunctional and highly integrated semiconductors with low power and high performance through advanced packaging is emerging as the core competitiveness of system semiconductor makers.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) and companies and organizations in the field of system semiconductors participated in the ceremony to develop technology and strengthen capabilities in the packaging sector. The signatories included the MOTIE, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, LG Chem, Hana Micron, Protec, Sapeon Korea, Symtec, the Next-Generation Intelligent Semiconductor Business Group, the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology.
In conjunction with the agreement, the MOTIE plans to promote new R&D projects related to advanced packaging, which will require a large investment from the government. It will also establish a collaboration system with semiconductor research centers in the United States and the European Union (EU), and also global OSAT companies.