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| Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong responds to reporters at Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center, Saturday. Yonhap |
Lee seeks expanded cooperation with ASML
By Lee Kyung-min
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong underscored the importance of keeping up with cutting-edge technology during a meeting with reporters, Saturday, as reaffirmed by his recent trip to Europe to hold meetings with businesses including ASML, an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology developer and equipment manufacturer in the Netherlands.
During the 12-day trip, the top decision-maker cemented a business relationship with the Dutch high-tech firm, the exclusive supplier of EUV, the next-generation growth driver for advanced chip-making around the world.
Prompting the belated move was the fear of falling further behind its Taiwanese peer, TSMC, the global leader in the foundry business already making leaps and bounds after purchasing new EUV equipment over the past year. The Taiwanese rival advanced, while Lee was serving a prison term from January to August of last year following a conviction in a protracted corruption trial involving disgraced former President Park Geun-hye.
Technology, technology, technology
Lee said the recent trip reminded him of the importance of technology, adding that the firm's top three priorities are all technology focused.
"It's all about technology," Lee told reporters at the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC) upon arrival, Saturday. "I have given it much thought, but there is no other conclusion. The first, the second and the third priorities are all technology."
Lee visited Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France to fortify cooperation with its business partners, mostly by meeting with clients, employees at the firm's research institutes and CEOs of its partner firms.
Chief among his priorities was a meeting with ASML CEO Peter Wennink at the firm headquarters in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, June 14 (local time), which was an opportunity and learning experience Lee characterized as "the next course of the advancement of the semiconductor industry."
"I could feel how the next-generation technologies and the generation after that will advance in the coming years when I visited ASML headquarters and semiconductor research institutes," Lee said.
The vice chairman added that the trip made him more committed to creating a flexible corporate culture in the midst of heightened uncertainties around the world.
"Confusion and volatilities abound, especially concerning the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine," he said. "What we need in these times of extreme uncertainties is to increase the pool of talent to better adapt to the fast-changing global environment."
He declined to comment on potential acquisition (M&A) plans.
