Biden, First US President to Visit Samsung’s New Chip Plant
U.S. President Joe Biden is letting the world know that Samsung Electronics is playing a huge role in the global chip industry as he became the first U.S. president to visit the world's number one memory chipmaker's plant in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul.
The first place he visited was Samsung's Pyeongtaek plant, the world's largest semiconductor factory. Biden arrived at the factory and greeted President Yoon. The two leaders talked to each other for about a minute and took a photo together.
After being escorted to the plant, Biden and Yoon signed a guest book. What is unique about this guest book is that they wrote on a semiconductor wafer, not on a traditional notebook. A wafer is used in the semiconductor manufacturing process as a substrate for chips. The company is on course to mass produce ultra-thin and low-power consumption chips using the 3-nanometer process technology within the first half of 2022, which is a half-year faster than TSMC, a Taiwanese chip manufacturing company.
Before the speeches of Yoon and Biden, the Samsung leader took the podium. "Good evening. It is a great honor to welcome President Biden, President Yoon, and many distinguished guests to our Pyeongtaek semiconductor campus today, the largest and the most advanced fabrication site in the world," he said in English. "Semiconductors are engines of the modern world, driving growth and opportunity for all. They enable people around the globe to have accruable access to the internet and its vast database of knowledge and they advance business productivity on all fronts. This innovation is possible with your devotion so thank you team Samsung in South Korea, the U.S., and around the world."
President Yoon said, "Semiconductors are national security assets that will take responsibility for our future." He also said, "We will spare no bold incentives and necessary support." President Biden congratulated Yoon for becoming the new president of Korea and expressed his gratitude to Lee for investing $17 billion to build a new semiconductor fabrication plant in Texas.
Source: Baek Byung-yeul from The Korea Times (May 2022)
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