**: The content comes from the Semiconductor Industry Watch (ID: icbank) synthesis, thank you.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea and the Netherlands have further upgraded their cooperation with cutting-edge technology for the first time in 62 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1961. In the joint statement, the leaders of the Republic of Korea and the Netherlands pointed out that the two countries are satisfied with the continuous development of bilateral cooperation in many fields of economy, culture and culture, and as geopolitical partners, the two countries will further strengthen cooperation in the fields of economic security and the law of the sea, with a view to contributing to global peace, prosperity and security, and promoting the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic partnerships.
"The two leaders emphasized the importance of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific and agreed to strengthen cooperation on their respective Indo-Pacific strategies," the joint statement said. ”。
"The leaders of both sides recognize their unique and complementary positions in the semiconductor value chain and reaffirm their commitment to building a semiconductor alliance involving **, companies and universities," the joint statement said. To this end, the leaders agreed to establish a bilateral semiconductor dialogue and a semiconductor talent program, and to continue and expand business-to-business cooperation."
"The leaders of both sides recognize that monitoring disruptions of critical items and ensuring the resilience of the chain are of common concern, and they agreed to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and information on the chain of critical items," the joint statement added.
The report mentioned that the two sides also agreed to expand strategic communication channels. In parallel with the establishment of the new mechanism for the Ministerial Dialogue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Industry, the Policy Consultative Meeting and the Joint Economic Committee at the level of Assistant Ministers, as well as the meetings of the Joint Committee on Innovation between the Ministries of Industry, are held on a regular basis. The two leaders also decided to advance cooperation in the areas of defense, military industry, and emerging security.
Yoon then stressed that "as model countries representing Europe and Asia in terms of market economies, the two countries will work together to uphold the rules-based international order and cooperate closely in technological innovation."
Yoon Suk-yeol also said at a press conference on the same day that "the establishment of a semiconductor alliance between South Korea and the Netherlands means jointly discussing and resolving important scientific and technological issues, and closely sharing information to maintain the semiconductor supergap advantage."
According to the report, this also means that South Korea is one step closer to forming a global semiconductor **chain alliance that connects the entire cycle of design, subcontracting (materials, parts, equipment) and manufacturing. The Netherlands is one of the important partners of the Yoon Suk-yeol regime, and through the solidarity between South Korea, the United States, and Japan, a close cooperation system has been established to stabilize the ** chain.
Yoon's visit will ensure competitiveness throughout the semiconductor production cycle and establish channels for global cooperation through solidarity with the Netherlands, a semiconductor equipment powerhouse after the United States and Japan, the South Korean office said.
South Korea is a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse, but it is relatively weak in the non-memory sector, especially in materials and equipment, so the cooperation between the two sides is crucial for South Korea. South Korea hopes that its semiconductor alliance with the Netherlands will help open up the procurement of semiconductor equipment.
Samsung and SK hynix will receive more EUV?
South Korea's Samsung and SK hynix are actively striving for Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML to provide equipment and technology in the global chip war, and build a chip alliance.
Industry observers say that while ASML can decide who to give the high-spec equipment, it will still consider many bargaining factors, including national interests and relationships with industry players. ASML may care not only about the relationship with the buyer itself, but also with the customers that the buyer has.
In addition to Samsung and other Korean manufacturers, TSMC is still ASML's most important and trusted international customer, and Samsung and SK hynix have not yet disclosed the number of EUV devices purchased because this is a trade secret.
According to industry insiders, Samsung is said to currently have about 40 EUV devices, while SK hynix has only single digits. TSMC's manufacturing facility in Taiwan has about 100 EUV devices. Chip design companies such as Qualcomm and Intel also hope that their partner foundries can obtain advanced EUV equipment to ensure the quality of their products.
Samsung and ASML have agreed to jointly invest about 1 trillion won (NT$24 billion) to build a research facility in South Korea to develop ultra-microscopic semiconductor production technology using next-generation EUVs. SK hynix has also reached an agreement with ASML to collaborate on the development of an eco-friendly technology aimed at minimizing energy consumption when using EUV technology in chip manufacturing, the Ministry of Industry said.
The two South Korean companies have also ordered ASML's next-generation high numerical aperture EUV** scanner device. ASML is poised to launch the new product for the first time in the industry in the coming months. The high NA EUV device takes the lens numerical aperture from 033 to 055, enabling chipmakers to produce 2nm process chips using ultra-fine technology. ASML is also currently building a maintenance center and engineer training facility in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, with an investment of 240 billion won (5.7 billion yuan) by 2025.
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