‘Korea must lead, not follow, in chips'

Korea Herald

3 days ago

From one-room startup to world-first technologies, Jusung Engineering chief shares his vision for Korea's chip future
When Hwang Chul-joo set out to build front-end chipmaking equipment in 1993, he was met with strong skepticism, as Korea had just begun taking its first baby steps into the semiconductor industry. The idea of a homegrown firm developing chipmaking tools used in early-stage production sounded absurd to most.
'Back then, people said Korea couldn't even make a screw suitable for semiconductor equipment,' recalled Hwang, founder and CEO of Jusung Engineering, the country's first-generation chipmaking firm. 'So people were shocked. How could Korea possibly do that? And how would one individual, not even a major company, do it?'
But Hwang had conviction. Starting his engineering career at Hyundai Electronics — whose semiconductor division later became SK hynix — and Dutch chip equipment firm ASM, he held a strong belief in the future of integrated circuits, the fundamental technology embedded in nearly every modern device.
He believed the timing was right, as Korea's three major chaebol groups were also entering the chip business.
'I was young, and to me, the chaebols looked invincible. If they were investing in semiconductors, I thought success was possible.'
At just 35, Hwang launched Jusung Engineering from a single-room office he shared with a friend. In 1997, Jusung became the first Korean company to export front-end chip equipment. The following year, it became the world's first company to mass-produce atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment for DRAM capacitors.
No innovation, no future
What has sustained his company for over three decades, Hwang said, is an unrelenting commitment to innovation.
'Innovation is the fastest and surest way for someone born with nothing to rise,' he said. 'It's also about overcoming speed, time and risk.'
With the rise of artificial intelligence, the need for innovation in semiconductor integration has become even more urgent. Hwang explained that his company is staying ahead of the curve by developing ALD tools for group III-V compound semiconductors. These materials, seen as next-generation alternatives to silicon, are capable of solving performance bottlenecks without relying on extreme miniaturization.
'Equipment companies must work five to ten years in advance so that the tools are ready when the industry shifts,' he said.
Jusung is also collaborating with clients to test its new glass substrate deposition equipment, recognizing the potential of glass as a next-generation material to replace traditional silicon interposers in advanced packaging.
'In the AI era, logic chips and memory need to communicate in real time. If they are physically far apart, data moves more slowly, heat increases and power consumption rises.'
In this context, glass cores would help bring logic and memory chips closer together. Hwang believes it won't be long before memory and logic chips are manufactured together on a single substrate.
Unrivaled No. 1 strategy
As a 40-year industry veteran, Hwang voiced concerns about Korea's fragmented approach to industrial development, warning that a lack of coordinated collaboration could undermine the country's competitiveness in the global chip race.
'Past semiconductor technologies and future technologies are completely different. Until now, Korea's strength has been in memory, but moving forward, memory companies will need to handle logic as well,' Hwang said.
'So we need to work as a team. Other countries are operating systematically with strong government backing. How can one person win against ten working together?'
Major chip powerhouses such as the US, Japan, Taiwan and China are investing heavily and pursuing joint projects to bolster their domestic chip industries. Korea is trying to introduce its own support measures, such as tax credits and investment incentives, but it simply cannot outspend its rivals, Hwang said.
'What's more important is recognizing that we now live in a world where consumers can clearly distinguish between first and second place — and in this industry, there is no reward for being second,' he said. 'If you lose in the global competition, you're finished.'
He urged the government to focus on removing obstacles and protecting the value of innovation. Hwang also criticized Korea's continued dependence on its legacy as a fast follower, arguing that the imitation-based model has reached its limits.
'Real competition is about who does it first — not who can do it,' Hwang said. 'China is catching up rapidly by copying, and Korea cannot compete with a country of 1.4 billion people using the same strategy. If we're lucky, we have five years. If not, just three before Korean companies lose their edge to China.'
His advice is clear: stop trying to support 300 venture firms, 30 mid-sized companies and 20 conglomerates for the sake of 'fair competition.' Instead, focus on building one 'world-first, one of a kind' company.
As an example, he pointed to Nvidia, the world's top supplier of graphic processing units with a $4 trillion market cap — almost double Korea's GDP. If even one Korean company like that emerges, he said, the country's per-capita income could surge to $100,000 in no time.
It is also critical to ensure that the 'one of a kind' company remains unrivaled.
'The moment two firms start doing the same thing, market value drops fourfold. Korea has a habit of trying to replicate whatever works, but that only weakens everyone,' he said.
'The past 30 years of Korea's growth came from developing the 99 percent that others had already invented. But the next 30 years must be built on the 1 percent no one has imagined.'
The Top 100 Global Innovators series spotlights the trailblazers shaping Korea's future across a range of industries — from bold entrepreneurs and tech pioneers to research leaders — whose innovations are making a global impact beyond Korea. More than a celebration of success, the series offers a deeper exploration of the ideas, breakthroughs and strategies driving their achievements. — Ed.