SemiVoice

➀ Hanmi Semiconductor has secured a significant order from Micron;

➁ The order is for thermal compression (TC) bonders used in HBM production;

➂ The deal is likely the reason for the increased TC bonder prices for Hanmi's other customer, SK Hynix.

Korea Wafer Holdings, the largest shareholder of 3S Korea, is planning to send an official demand letter next week. The letter will request the company to open their accounts and certify copies of accounting documents. These documents are sought for a comprehensive review, including those related to financial and operational matters.

3S Korea's new majority shareholder is preparing for a major reshuffle of the company's executives following allegations of 'mismangement' by the previous largest shareholder. Korea Wafer Holdings, having spent 13.7 billion won on April 1 to acquire a 12% stake in the wafer shipping box manufacturer, is scrutinizing the previous shareholder's management practices.

➀ Samsung Foundry has named Wethemax as its Design Solution Partner (DSP) earlier this year;

➁ TheElec discovered that Wethemax was fined 10 billion won by the foundry last year for malpractice;

➂ This is an unusual move for Samsung, known for its strict supplier policies.

SK Hynix has decided to increase its planned CAPEX by 30% this year due to the surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Initially planning to spend 22 trillion won on facility expansion, the company has now increased this to 29 trillion won, according to sources.

SK Hynix has become the world's largest vendor of DRAM based on revenue for the first time in its history. According to Counterpoint Research, in the first quarter of this year, SK Hynix held a 36% market share in the DRAM market, followed by Samsung with 34% and Micron with 25%. This milestone marks a significant shift in the DRAM market landscape.

Electrical beam equipment manufacturer SEC, known for supplying X-ray inspection systems, is more than just an X-Ray equipment maker. The company leverages its e-beam technology to offer non-destructive inspection platforms that are more cost-competitive and flexible in design. SEC CEO Jongh discusses the company's future growth strategies.

South Korean fabs saw a profit increase last year, primarily due to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging technologies. TheElec analyzed the financial filings of 46 major fab equipment manufacturers in the country.

Hanmi Semiconductor, one of the companies reviewed, experienced a notable rise in profits.

SFA has developed three different kinds of metrology and inspection (MI) machines and has supplied one of them to a major South Korean chipmaker.

The company has supplied a white light interferometry (WLI)-based height measurement machine to the conglomerate and plans to supply four additional units.

Zeus, a South Korean semiconductor equipment manufacturer, reported revenue of 315.7 billion won last year, a 69% increase from 2023, according to its filings on Monday. It also returned to profitability with an operating income of 39.1 billion won. This growth is attributed to Zeus's timely development of cleaners for high-bandwidth memory.