North Chungcheong Province announced that the completion ceremony for the next-generation semiconductor materials production plant of JSR Micro Korea, a Japanese foreign-invested enterprise, was held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, September 30, at the Ochang Foreign Investment Zone in Cheongju.

The ceremony was attended by key figures including North Chungcheong Province Governor Shin Yong-han, Cheongju Deputy Mayor Shin Byung-dae, JSR Corporation CEO Tetsuro Hori, and JSR Micro Korea CEO Takahiro Iijima. The event featured celebratory performances, commemorative addresses, congratulatory remarks, and a commemorative performance.

JSR Micro Korea, established in Ochang in 2003 as the Korean subsidiary of Japan's JSR Corporation, has expanded its business in display materials. With the establishment of this new plant, the company has built a domestic production system for MOR, a next-generation EUV photoresist for semiconductors.

MOR (Metal Oxide Resist) is a next-generation photoresist material used to form micro-circuit patterns on wafers during EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography processes. It is drawing significant attention as a core material to address semiconductor ultra-microfabrication, thanks to its superior EUV absorption characteristics compared to conventional materials.

Notably, this facility is the world's first EUV MOR production base established by JSR Corporation. Following its acquisition of the U.S. company Inpria in 2021, JSR has been pursuing the commercialization of MOR, and the Ochang plant will handle the final production processes for MOR.

Through the establishment of this production base, JSR Corporation plans to respond promptly to the demands of major domestic clients while strengthening its local production and quality assurance capabilities. It is also expected to contribute to stabilizing the supply chain of core materials for South Korea's semiconductor industry.

"The completion of JSR Corporation's next-generation EUV MOR production plant in Ochang is another milestone that establishes North Chungcheong Province as a strategic hub in the global semiconductor material supply chain," said Governor Shin Yong-han. "We hope that JSR Micro Korea, which has journeyed alongside North Chungcheong Province, will grow even further into a world-class semiconductor materials company based here and illuminate a new future for South Korea’s semiconductor industry."

Meanwhile, North Chungcheong Province is a representative domestic semiconductor industry hub densely populated with semiconductor manufacturers like SK hynix as well as materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) companies. The completion of JSR Micro Korea's next-generation semiconductor material production plant is expected to further strengthen supply chain competitiveness for core materials in semiconductor ultra-fine processes.

JSR Corporation, the parent company of JSR Micro Korea, is a global materials company established in Japan in 1957. It develops and manufactures semiconductor and display materials, boasting world-class competitiveness, particularly in the photoresist sector.

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