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| President Yoon Suk-yeol, second from left, and U.S. President Joe Biden, left, look around Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, May 20, with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, third from left. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Samsung's U.S. foundry plant construction is expected to strengthen Korea-U.S. semiconductor ties, with the company conducting large-scale recruitment of local workers as the groundbreaking ceremony draws closer, according to industry officials, Sunday.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden are all highly likely to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. It is speculated that the ceremony for the factory in Taylor, Texas, could become a symbolic event that further strengthens the semiconductor alliance between Korea and the U.S.
"The schedules of key personnel are being adjusted in relation to the groundbreaking ceremony," an industry official said.
Industry insiders believe that the groundbreaking ceremony could be held around Sept. 19 or 20 local time during the 77th U.N. General Assembly in New York. Vice Chairman Lee is expected to accompany President Yoon at the General Assembly, allowing the two to visit the Taylor factory construction site together.
President Biden has shown a strong enthusiasm for investments in semiconductor facilities in the U.S. He is also highly likely to attend the groundbreaking ceremony, as part of a strategy of strengthening the semiconductor supply chain that is centered in the U.S.
His party is holding it up as a great achievement to attract large-scale semiconductor facilities to the country ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.
If Vice Chairman Lee and the leaders of Korea and the U.S. get together on the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony, it is expected to become an extension of semiconductor cooperation between the two countries, which was formed when President Biden chose the Samsung Pyeongtaek factory as his first scheduled visit in Korea in May.
The second foundry plant in Taylor will be built on an area of ??about 5 million square meters. At this plant, advanced system semiconductor products such as 5G, high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) gear are all scheduled to be created.
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