➀ The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is organizing a mission to Korea for semiconductor researchers and organizations. The visit aims to identify collaborative research and innovation opportunities between the UK and Korea. ➁ The program will include visits to Korean semiconductor organizations, networking with stakeholders, and workshops with experts. ➂ The DSIT invites applications from stakeholders interested in semiconductor research, particularly in areas like heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging, wide band gap materials, future telecommunication, and advanced smart network technologies.

➀ SEMI forecasts semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales to grow 6.5% year-on-year to $113 billion in 2024, with projections of $121 billion for 2025 and $139 billion for 2026. ➁ The wafer fab equipment (WFE) segment is expected to grow 5.4% to $101 billion in 2024, driven by DRAM, HBM, and China. ➂ Back-end equipment sales are projected to surge, with test equipment sales increasing 14.7% in 2025 and 18.6% in 2026.

➀ September's Korean IC production fell 3% after an 11% rise in August; ➁ The decline marks the first monthly decrease in production in 14 months, indicating a slowdown in the memory boom; ➂ IC inventory levels in September fell 41.5% year-on-year.

➀ Korea’s September semiconductor exports reached a record high of $13.63 billion, up 36.3% year-on-year. Memory exports grew 60.7% year-on-year and 20% month-on-month to $8.72 billion. SoC exports rose 5.2% year-on-year to $4.37 billion. ➁ The overall Information and Communication Technology exports in September 2024 increased by 24% year-on-year to $22.36 billion. ➂ HBM had a significant impact on DRAM export values, and TrendForce forecasts that memory price growth will slow in Q4.

➀ A new Sino-Korean semiconductor fund, with a total scale of 1 billion yuan, aims to attract leading Korean semiconductor companies to invest in Wuxi. ➁ Nextin and Gigalane, both semiconductor equipment companies, have successfully established operations in Wuxi. ➂ Despite U.S. pressure to restrict chip exports to China, Korean semiconductor exports to China continue to grow, with significant increases in revenue for companies like Samsung and SK Hynix.