Samsung heir visits chip R&D center to mark start of 2020

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de-facto heir to South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, on Thursday urged company staff to accelerate the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies as he visited a chip research and development (R&D) center to mark the start of the new year.

Lee discussed Samsung's future strategy with senior executives at the company's chip R&D center in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, according to the South Korean tech giant. He also inspected Samsung's 3-nanometer gate-all-around (GAA) chipmaking process.

"Our past performance doesn't guarantee success in the future," Lee said. "We must get rid of wrong thoughts and customs and move forward to explore a new future."

Industry insiders said Lee's visit to the chip research center shows his determination to make the company a leading player in the system chip sector, in addition to the memory chip market.

Samsung is currently the world's largest producer of memory chips, including NAND flash and DRAM chips.

But in a bid to catch up with rivals in the non-memory sector, Samsung announced in April last year that it will invest 133 trillion won (US$114 billion) by 2030 to expand its non-memory and foundry business to take the top spot in the high-tech industry.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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