American Lam Research chip firm opens $100M tech center in S. Korea

Lam Research, an American semiconductor company, announced on Tuesday, April 26, that it has opened a new research and development center in South Korea. The new tech center officially expanded the company’s global research network linking the United States and Europe.

The Korea Herald reported that the new facility is called the Lam Research Technology Center, and it sits on a 30,000 square meter area within an industrial complex located in Yongin, which is around 50 kilometers from Seoul. The firm invested more or less $100 million to set up its R&D center in the country.

Lam Research shared that once the facility is fully operational, its responsiveness to the needs and demands of clients will greatly be improved, specifically in the whole process of chip making.

The R&D center is also close to Samsung Electronics’ facility, which is also in the Yongin complex. This place is known to be a ground where South Korea’s key semiconductor firms operate. Thus Samsung has a center there as well as SK Hynix which owns several plants.

“The Lam Research Korea Technology Center is a powerful extension to our global lab network,” Lam Research’s president and chief executive officer, Tim Archer, said in a statement. “By enabling deeper technology partnerships with our customers, this new facility further strengthens our ability to develop next-generation solutions faster.”

Lee Sang Won, president of Lam Research Korea, further said that their new tech center would represent the firm’s dedication to maintaining its partnership with Korean chip companies. He said the center will provide an outstanding place where the efforts can continue and contribute to bolstering the K-semiconductor business ecosystem for years to come.

Lam Research will feature a state-of-art cleanroom, and it can be easily expanded further in the future. It was said that at this time, there are around 100 researchers working at the new R&D center.

"As the semiconductor equipment sector becomes increasingly important, we expect the opening of Lam Research KTC to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the Korean semiconductor industry," The Korea Times quoted the country’s first vice minister of trade, industry, energy, Park Jin Kyu, as saying during the opening ceremony of the center. "The government will actively support Korea to become a stable and attractive investment destination for global semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies."