Event held Thursday in Chiba Prefecture

Over 20 firms attend, including Shin-Etsu and Tokyo Electron

Technology roadmap shared early to bolster local supply chain stability

Lee Byung-ki, SK hynix's chief production officer, speaks at the Partners Day event in Japan, emphasizing expanded semiconductor ecosystem cooperation between South Korea and Japan. [SK hynix]
Lee Byung-ki, SK hynix's chief production officer, speaks at the Partners Day event in Japan, emphasizing expanded semiconductor ecosystem cooperation between South Korea and Japan. [SK hynix]

SK hynix announced Friday that it hosted a "Partners Day" event in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, inviting more than 20 of its key local business partners. It was the first time SK hynix has held a Partners Day in Japan.

The event, held Thursday, drew top executives from Japanese materials, parts and equipment companies. Participants spanned five sectors: materials firms including Shin-Etsu Chemical, Sumco and JSR; equipment makers including Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings; back-end process and testing companies including Disco and Advantest; as well as parts and infrastructure suppliers.

Senior executives from South Korea also made the trip, reflecting the event's focus on aligning key Japanese partners with the company's strategic direction. Attendees included Chief Production Officer Lee Byung-ki, Executive Vice President Kang Yu-jong, who heads procurement, and Executive Vice President Choi Woo-jin, who leads the P&T division.

SK hynix briefed its Japanese partners on current business conditions and medium- to long-term strategic direction, then provided a detailed preview of technologies under development and the company's future technology roadmap. The early disclosure was intended to give partners time to plan capital expenditures and build production capacity. SK hynix said it plans to continue close communication to strengthen the stability of its local supply chain.

"South Korea and Japan share a complementary relationship," Lee said. "The capabilities of our Japanese partners are a core element in strengthening SK hynix's technological competitiveness, and we will expand cooperation so that the semiconductor ecosystems of both countries can grow together."

Hiroshi Ishida, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Tokyo Electron, said the early sharing of a medium- to long-term roadmap and the ability to maintain close management-level dialogue with SK hynix "provides a major foundation for our technology development and investment decisions." Ishida added that Tokyo Electron would deepen the relationship by sharing technical challenges and leveraging each company's strengths for mutual growth. "We will continue working together from the earliest stages of development to support semiconductor manufacturing in the AI era," Ishida said.


jeongwan@heraldcorp.com