Dutch chip giant ASML, Samsung sign deal to build semiconductor plant in Korea as Yoon Suk-yeol visits the Netherlands
- The companies agree to invest in the facility, which will use EUV equipment to develop semiconductor processing technology
- Yoon, aiming to forge a ‘chip alliance’ with the Netherlands, is the first Korean leader to visit the European nation since 1961
Dutch tech giant ASML and Samsung Electronics on Tuesday signed a deal worth around 700 million euros (US$755 million) to build a semiconductor research plant in South Korea, as President Yoon Suk-yeol wrapped up day one of a technology-focused visit.
Yoon was the first foreign leader to visit ASML’s highly secure “clean room”, on a trip to the Netherlands aimed at forging a “chip alliance” between the two global semiconductor powerhouses.
He toured the city-sized facilities of ASML, which makes cutting-edge machines to manufacture the semiconductor chips that power everything from your smartphone to your car.
ASML and Samsung later agreed to “jointly in the future” invest in the facility that would “develop cutting-edge semiconductor processing technology using next-generation [extreme ultraviolet] equipment”.
Semiconductors are the “linchpin” of ties between Korea and the Netherlands, Yoon told AFP in an exclusive written interview before becoming the first Korean leader to visit since ties were established in 1961.