According to BusinessKorea, South Korea’s largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer and Samsung Electronics subsidiary SEMES is planning to build a new R&D center to help Samsung achieve independence in the field of semiconductor equipment.

It is reported that SEMES plans to invest 400 billion won (US$360 million) in the next 10 years to build an R&D center on a 110,000 square meter site near Samsung Electronics' Giheung chip factory.

The report pointed out that since Japan imposed export controls on South Korea two years ago, the importance of semiconductor equipment has become increasingly prominent.

At the same time, as competition in the global semiconductor industry intensifies, major chip factories are committed to obtaining sufficient semiconductor production equipment. Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the Netherlands in October 2020 to obtain EUV lithography equipment as scheduled.

Samsung's goal is to become the world's largest system semiconductor manufacturer by 2030, and the company also plans to enter the top five in the semiconductor equipment industry.

The report pointed out that SEMES plans to complete the purchase of the land for the R&D center through South Korea's central and local governments in the second half of May. Industry experts predict that SEMES will promote capital increase for this project.