According to businesstimes reports, DuPont has decided to invest US $ 28 million in South Korea to produce photoresist and other materials by 2021, a move that will help reduce South Korea ’s excess of Japan on key materials required for chip production. rely.
Previously, in July 2019, the Japanese government announced restrictions on the export of three semiconductor core materials used in the manufacture of electronic equipment to South Korea, which prompted South Korean technology companies to compete to expand their supply chains.
Last month, relations between the Japanese and South Korean governments began to ease, with the former announcing that it had partially lifted restrictions on South Korean photoresist exports. Japanese companies have been licensed to provide three years of photoresist to companies such as LG, Samsung and SK Hynix without having to obtain approval for each shipment. However, not all restrictions have been eliminated, and the export of fluorinated polyimide and high-purity hydrogen fluoride from Japan to South Korea is still restricted.
"In spite of Japan's recent relaxation of export controls on photoresist, this is only partial progress and is not a fundamental solution," South Korean Industry Minister Seung Yun-mo said in a statement.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency pointed out that photoresist is one of Japan's three major semiconductor materials that restrict exports to South Korea. DuPont's decision will help South Korea to diversify its supply and reduce its dependence on Japan.
The report pointed out that the investment location is 92 kilometers south of Seoul, and it has a Dupont factory in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do. The investment period is from 2020 to 2021.