Korea joins with U.S. schools to build a better chip

Korean companies and U.S. universities will work together to jointly develop semiconductor-related technologies, the government said yesterday.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas to cooperate in the design and production of new computer chips and manufacturing equipment. The MOU calls for 21.8 billion won ($23.5 million) in funding from this year to 2011, with the South Korean government footing 10 billion won of the total.
The Texas state government will contribute 5.4 billion won and the rest will come from private companies taking part in the various development projects.
Korean companies are to be picked in July. Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor may participate along with smaller companies.
“Korea is a leader in memory chips, but is behind in such areas as designing non-memory semiconductors, production of parts, and in the manufacturing machine sector,” said Vice Minister Oh Young-ho.
He said because Korea and the United States are good in slightly different areas, the joint endeavor will be mutually beneficial.
Korea’s global market share in non-memory chips stands at 2 percent. The country’s self-sufficiency in chip manufacturing machines stood at 18 percent in 2006, with imports of these products reaching $5 billion. It also imported half of all parts and material used to make chips totaling $2 billion.
If all goes well, the official said, self-sufficiency in manufacturing machines will rise to 50 percent, while the percentage of parts and materials could reach 75 percent.
Oh said that U.S. schools and companies will benefit from fresh investments and be able to gain access to the Korean market.