ASML completes construction of chip equipment plant in Korea

This photo provided by the government of Gyeonggi Province shows the groundbreaking ceremony of ASML's chip equipment plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of Gyeonggi Province

ASML, a Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment manufacturer, completed construction of a manufacturing plant in Korea, which is expected to serve as a cooperation hub for the Dutch company and Korean chipmakers, the industry ministry said Wednesday.

The completion ceremony of the 16,000-square-meter cluster, named the New Campus, was held in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, a major semiconductor hub, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

The ministry said ASML's Hwaseong campus will serve as one of the company's key manufacturing hubs in Asia, while helping Korea strengthen its supply chains for the semiconductor industry.

The company also plans to expand its technology exchanges and cooperation with Korean chipmakers, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, it added.

ASML is the world's largest manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system, a highly advanced machine used in semiconductor manufacturing to print small circuit patterns onto silicon wafers.

The company's plant here will house the so-called repair center, which remanufactures key equipment, such as EUV and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems, as well as a training center dedicated to transferring advanced technologies.

"The advancement of Korea's semiconductor industry depends on close cooperation with municipal and central governments, and international partners," said Kang Gam-chan, deputy minister for trade and investment at the ministry.

"Today's completion ceremony is a great example of such collaboration and I hope to see even stronger technological cooperation and investment between Korea and the Netherlands in the semiconductor field going forward," he added, vowing efforts to attract more foreign investment to Korea.

The company said about 1,500 employees of ASML Korea, currently working at different offices around Hwaseong, will relocate to the new campus by the end of this year.

As part of its plan to strengthen cooperation with Korean chipmakers, ASML also aims to build a cooperative ecosystem with Korean materials, components and equipment companies.

ASML Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christophe Fouquet met with SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung the previous day and also reportedly met Jun Young-hyun, head of Samsung Electronics' chip division, on Wednesday to discuss ways to expand collaboration.