By Lee Jihae
President Moon Jae-in on Oct. 10 attended the signing ceremony for Samsung Display's investment agreement in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do Province, where he encouraged the company to make an effective response to Japan's export restrictions on Korea.
The day marked the eve of 100 days since Japan imposed export regulations on Korea.
The president cited the example of a small or medium enterprise that succeeded in domestically producing key components for semiconductors, with the company and Samsung localizing the production of 72 optics components. Korea had depended on Japan for the production of these components.
President Moon said Korea actively invested in OLED in the early stages of the technology's market, which allowed the country to grab a 96% market share. Korea will remain the world's semiconductor leader and become a "peerless powerhouse in display production," he added.
During the ceremony, he held a video chat with a Samsung staff member, to whom he said Koreans are worried about being heavily reliant on a certain country for component materials, asking if they needed to worry. The staff responded by saying, "They don't," eliciting a smile from the president.
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