Samsung to build $280 million chip research center in Japan

Samsung Electronics plans to establish a $280 million research center in Japan. The new research center will hire 100 researchers and officially open in 2024.

A view shows Samsung Electronics' chip production plant at Pyeongtaek, Korea, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on September 7, 2022. [REUTERS]

Samsung Electronics will build a 40 billion yen ($280 million) research center in Japan, expanding the scope of its chip alliance after announcing a $760 million partnership with the Netherlands' ASML earlier this month.

Of the 40 billion yen investment, which will be made over the next five years, up to 20 billion will come from the Japanese government.

The announcement is an update to the initial plan announced after President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's summit in May, which had outlined a 30 billion yen research facility and a 10 billion yen government subsidy.

The research center, dubbed the Advanced Package Lab (APL) will consist of 71,000 square feet of research facilities and backup offices. Located in Yokohama, the center is expected to hire 100 researchers and to officially open in 2024.

Samsung has been running an additional R&D center in Yokohama since 1992.

“Samsung wishes to fortify leadership in semiconductors through continuous technology research,” said Kyung Kye-hyun, head of Samsung Electronics' chip division, in a statement Thursday.

“Yokohama is one of the most suitable locations to collaborate with industries, universities and research centers, as it houses many companies and institutions related to chip packaging.”

Japan is vying to be resurrected as a chip powerhouse by leveraging its strong presence in materials, components and equipment. The country had a domineering position in memory chips during the 1980s but lost competitiveness as the industry shifted toward more advanced chip manufacturing processes.

Under a nationwide mission, and armed with state-backed funds, Japan has already attracted two manufacturing facilities and a research center from TSMC.

The latest partnership will root Korea more deeply in the U.S.-led global chip alliance that aims to compete with China.

Samsung Electronics and Dutch firm ASML agreed to jointly build a chip research center in Korea, pledging a combined investment of $760 million, during President Yoon's recent state visit to the Netherlands, which is an ally to the United States.

“Korea is showing accelerated moves in fortifying partnerships in chips, such as with the Netherlands and Japan,” said Kim Yang-paeng, senior researcher at Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade. “It could lead to further decoupling from China in supply chain.”

The alliance is expected to help Korea roar ahead in the chip race.

“The latest establishment of an R&D center in Japan will help Korea widen its gap with China in advanced chip technology,” said Park Jea-gun, an electronics engineering professor at Hanyang University who doubles as the chairman of the Korean Society of Semiconductors and Display Technology.

“Packaging technology is vital in scaling down logic processors.”

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]