Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong departed for North America on his first overseas visit since he was released on parole in August of this year.
Vice Chairman Lee met with reporters before departing for a chartered flight from Gimpo Airport in Seoul on the morning of the same day and said, "I plan to meet several US partners" regarding the decision to invest in US foundries (semiconductor consignment production).
Also, when asked if he would meet with Moderna in the US to discuss the supply and demand of the COVID-19 vaccine, he said, "Yes," and "I think I will go to Boston (where Moderna is headquartered)."
As mentioned by Vice Chairman Lee, the main topics of this North American business trip are semiconductors and vaccines.
In particular, there is a forecast that the final decision will be made on the site of a US foundry plant with an investment of about 20 trillion won. Currently, Taylor and Austin, Texas, are emerging as potential plant candidates.
As for the vaccine, Moderna vaccine, which Samsung Biologics consigned production, has been introduced in Korea since last month, and it is reported that Vice Chairman Lee played a major role in the early vaccine supply process.
Vice-President Lee's business trip to the United States will be the first in five years since attending the Sun Valley Conference in July 2016.
Vice Chairman Lee is in court every Thursday because he is undergoing a trial related to the Samsung C&T merger and Samsung Biologics' fraudulent accounting. known to be
(Photo = Yonhap News)