US President Joe Biden will visit the SK Siltron CCS plant in Michigan on the 29th. This is Biden's first visit to an industry site after the mid-term election (8th). According to analysis, his intention is to accelerate the expansion of semiconductor cooperation and manufacturing investment by visiting semiconductor core material companies invested by South Korean companies.
“President Biden will visit the SK Siltron CSS factory in Bay City, Michigan, on the afternoon of the 29th,” the White House said on the 28th. He had visited the Pyeongtaek semiconductor factory of Samsung Electronics before, but this is the first time he has visited the factory of a Korean company invested in the United States.
SK Siltron CSS is a company established in the United States after SK Siltron acquired DuPont's wafer business unit for US$450 million (about 590 billion won) in 2020. At that time, SK Siltron CSS announced plans to invest 300 million U.S. dollars (approximately 400 billion won) to build factories in Bay City and other places. SK Siltron CSS produces silicon carbide (SiC) wafers used as semiconductor materials for electric vehicles due to its high power efficiency. In March of this year, Dai Qi, representative of the U.S. Trade Representative Office, and Yeo Han-goo, then Minister of Trade and Negotiation of the Korean Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy, came here to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement as a symbol of Korea-U.S. economic cooperation.
After Biden invited SK Group Chairman Cui Tae-won to the White House in July, he had to conduct a video interview because he was diagnosed with the new crown virus. At that time, Choi Tae-won announced a US$22 billion (approximately 29 trillion won) investment plan in the fields of semiconductors, green energy, and biology. Biden shouted "Thank you Tony (Cui Tae-won's English name)" nine times. " responded.
Regarding Biden's visit to a semiconductor material company in Michigan, some analysts believe that this is a symbolic action reflecting the policy direction after the midterm elections. Michigan, the representative region of the declining industrial belt "Rust Belt", is considered a strategic area for winning the 2024 general election. With the Republican Party holding a majority in the House of Representatives, Biden's visit to SK Siltron CSS, which produces core semiconductor materials for electric vehicles, is expected to show that he will speed up the implementation of core policies such as the Semiconductor Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Biden emphasized on Twitter on the 27th: "We produce affordable electric vehicles for American families and make historic investments in the US electric vehicle battery manufacturing industry," "creating good jobs is underway."
