S. Korea leader seeks semicon cooperation with Netherlands
South Korea accounts for about 60 percent of the world’s supply of memory chips
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South Korea accounts for about 60 percent of the world’s supply of memory chips
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol heads to the Netherlands Monday for a trip he told Agence France-Presse would focus on boosting crucial semiconductor cooperation between the two global chip powerhouses.
"As competition between countries and regions intensifies to gain hegemony over emerging technologies, the semiconductor industry is strategically more important than ever before, which makes this visit to the Netherlands especially meaningful," Yoon said.
"Semiconductors are the linchpin of Korea-Netherlands cooperation," he said. "The global semiconductor industry's stable and sustainable growth is in the core interest of both countries."
High-tech chips are the lifeblood of the modern global economy, used in everything from weapons to cars, and South Korea accounts for about 60 percent of the world's supply of memory chips, Yoon told AFP in an exclusive written interview.
The Netherlands is home to ASML, which produces the lithography equipment that makes semiconductors, and for years the two countries have worked together "in an exemplary manner," Yoon said, "contributing to the stability of global semiconductor supply chains."
During the state visit, Yoon will tour the ASML headquarters, including the company's highly controlled "cleanroom" manufacturing facilities, becoming the first foreign leader to do so.
This "will mark a crucial turning point for the 'Korea-Netherlands semiconductor alliance,'" Yoon told AFP, adding that discussions on chip cooperation were his "top priority" for the trip, the first by a Korean head of state since bilateral ties were established in 1961.
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