South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol to visit Netherlands with focus on semiconductors

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will travel to the Netherlands for a state visit on Monday, with semiconductor cooperation and a potential “chip alliance” likely to be the focus of his conversations with political and industry leaders.

The visit is the first by a South Korean leader since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1961 and created a partnership centred on industrial supply chains, agriculture, science, and culture.

Both South Korea and the Netherlands are major players in the global chip industry. Yoon stated ahead of the visit that increasing cooperation is critical at a time when global competition for technologies is escalating, with microchips becoming a geopolitical hotspot between the United States and China.

Describing his trip as “a crucial turning point for the Korea-Netherlands semiconductor alliance”, Yoon is due to visit the facilities of ASML, the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced chip-making equipment.

“The global environment surrounding the semiconductor industry is rapidly changing in tandem with competition for technological supremacy and supply chain restructuring,” Yoon also said in a written interview with Agence France-Presse published on Sunday.

The Netherlands has joined the United States and Japan in imposing export restrictions on the sale of the advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) chip products in China – its third-largest market after Taiwan and South Korea.

ASML, a supplier to South Korean chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, is building a new assembly facility in South Korea with an investment of 240 billion won ($181 million), according to Yoon’s office.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will join Yoon on the visit to ASML headquarters, the presidential office has said.

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