Germany's Henkel to open chip packaging materials R&D center in Seoul
Kim Hyun-woo, right, the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s director general of economic affairs, and Chang Ho-joon, co-CEO of Henkel Korea, pose after signing an agreement to set up Henkel’s semiconductor packaging materials research and development center in Seoul, at Seoul City Hall, Monday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
German adhesives and materials maker Henkel will set up a research center in Seoul to develop packaging materials for artificial intelligence (AI) chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday.
The city signed a memorandum of understanding with the company at Seoul City Hall on Monday. Under the agreement, Henkel will make 12.1 billion won ($8.9 million) in foreign direct investment in Seoul by 2031 and hire 15 new researchers, including holders of master’s and doctoral degrees.
The center, called Henkel Technology Center Korea, will be located in the Gasan Digital Complex, a tech business district in Seoul’s Geumcheon District. It will cover about 5,112 square meters, of which 1,205 square meters will be dedicated to chip packaging materials. The center will bring together Henkel’s existing research operations in Korea and add new research and development on materials for AI chips and HBM, a type of stacked memory chip used in AI servers.
Chip packaging is the process of protecting semiconductor chips and connecting them to other components. As AI chips and HBM become more powerful, there is growing demand for materials that dissipate heat and hold multiple chips together securely. Henkel plans to focus on liquid molding underfill, which protects and fixes chips in place, as well as heat-dissipating materials and bonding materials that strengthen chip packages.
The city said the center is expected to help reduce Korea’s reliance on imported chip materials and stabilize supply chains. The two sides will also work on joint research with Korean chipmakers and on training young researchers with local universities. The city plans to work with the central government to review investment incentives under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act.
Founded in Germany in 1876, Henkel operates in 79 countries with about 50,000 employees and posted sales of about 20.5 billion euros last year. Its wholly owned Korean unit, Henkel Korea, was established in 1989 and has invested about 87.6 billion won in Korea.
“Korea is a key market leading the advanced chip industry, backed by world-class chipmakers and skilled engineers,” Henkel Korea’s co-CEO Chang Ho-joon said.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.