President Yoon Suk-yeol, accompanied by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, visited the headquarters of ASML, a leading semiconductor equipment manufacturing company, on December 12. The visit included a meeting with representatives from major semiconductor companies in Korea, the Netherlands, and Europe, along with a tour of the production site for next-generation Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment.
ASML, based in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, stands as the global leader in producing EUV lithography equipment crucial for advanced semiconductor manufacturing used in artificial intelligence, smartphones, and more. The company has maintained a longstanding collaboration with South Korean semiconductor firms.
Upon arrival, President Yoon Suk-yeol and King Willem-Alexander ceremonially signed a wafer to commemorate the historic visit, with the signed wafer set to be showcased in ASML's cleanroom.
Subsequently, the leaders convened with representatives from major semiconductor companies and institutions, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, ASML (Netherlands, lithography equipment), ASM (Netherlands, deposition equipment), Zeiss (Germany, optical systems), and IMEC (Belgium, semiconductor research institution).
President Yoon commended ASML for its technological innovations, acknowledging its role as a driving force in the global Fourth Industrial Revolution. He expressed gratitude for the investments made by Dutch semiconductor companies, particularly ASML and ASM, in Korea, contributing significantly to production, research and development, and talent development.
Following the meeting, both governments signed three Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) for semiconductor cooperation. President Yoonand King Willem-Alexander attended the MOU signing ceremony, celebrating the deepened investment and cooperation between Korea and the Netherlands, and extending congratulations to all stakeholders.
To conclude the visit, President Yoon Suk-yeol and King Willem-Alexander jointly inspected ASML's cleanroom, providing a first-ever public view of the next-generation EUV production site. The government plans to provide support to ensure the seamless implementation of the government and private-sector cooperation MOUs signed during this ASML visit.