SK hynix Hosts First Partners Day in Japan, Sharing Business Direction with Key Local Partners

As advances in AI technology drive rapid growth in memory demand, global collaboration is becoming increasingly important to securing stable supply chains. In order to share its business direction and further strengthen their partnerships, SK hynix brought together key partners in Japan.

On the 29th, SK hynix held a Partners Day in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, inviting executives from over 20 of its key local business partners. The event brought together partners from five sectors, including materials companies such as Shin-Etsu, SUMCO, JSR, and Namics; equipment companies such as Tokyo Electron (TEL) and SCREEN Holdings; back-end processing and testing companies such as DISCO and Advantest; and companies specializing in components and infrastructure.

While the company has long held similar gatherings in Korea each year—inviting executives from major partners to share its business direction and technology vision—this marked the first time the company has hosted an event of this kind in Japan. Given the special significance of the occasion, the event drew a large number of key executives and working-level staff, including Chief Production Officer (CPO) Lee Byeong-gi, Vice President Youjong Kang, head of Procurement, and Vice President Woojin Choi, head of Package & Test.

▲ SK hynix Chief Production Officer (CPO) Byungki Lee emphasizes expanding cooperation across the Korean and Japanese semiconductor ecosystems

The event opened with welcoming remarks from Vice President Youjong Kang, followed by a congratulatory address from Shin-Etsu Chairman Fumio Akiya. Vice President Hyunchul Lee, head of the Procurement Strategy, then shared the company’s business status and mid-to-long-term business direction, while Vice President Sunghoon Lee, head of the R&D Process, provided a detailed introduction to the key technologies currently under development and the roadmap for future technology development. By sharing the necessary information ahead of time, SK hynix enabled its partners to gauge demand in advance and prepare their facility investments and production capacity accordingly. The company plans to keep enhancing the stability of its local supply chain through such close communication going forward.

“Korea and Japan have a complementary relationship,” said CPO Lee Byeong-gi. “The capabilities of our Japanese partners are a key factor in enhancing SK hynix’s technological competitiveness, and we plan to expand our collaboration to jointly advance the semiconductor ecosystems of both countries.”

Vice President Youjong Kang said, “In the AI era, close collaboration with our materials, components, and equipment partners is key to semiconductor competitiveness.” He added, “Working as ‘one team’ with our Japanese partners, we will respond to next-generation technology challenges and, together, secure innovative technologies and stable supply capabilities to support the growth of the AI memory market.”

Hiroshi Ishida, Chief Operating Officer(COO) of Tokyo Electron, responded, “With the advancement of AI, memory manufacturing processes are becoming more sophisticated at an unprecedented pace. Such technological innovation is also accelerating in Korea, one of the key regions leading the global semiconductor industry.”

He added, “Sharing mid-to-long term roadmaps with SK hynix early on and maintaining close cooperation at the management level provide a strong foundation for our technology development and investment decisions. By leveraging our respective strengths and sharing technical challenges, we will further deepen our relationship to grow together.”

He also stated, “We will continue to work together from the early stages of development to support semiconductor manufacturing in the AI era.”