ASML, the Netherlands-based semiconductor lithography corporations, opened the Global Training Center Korea in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
ASML Korea said on the 23rd that it set up the Global Training Center Korea within its Hwaseong campus, which opened last year, and held an opening ceremony. The facility is equipped with deep ultraviolet (DUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment and modules, as well as a clean room. ASML Korea plans to train professional customer service (CS) engineers there.
The facility integrates training centers that had been operated separately in the ASML Hwaseong office and Yongin into a single 3,100-square-meter site. Combining ASML and customer trainees, about 4,000 people a year will receive training at the Global Training Center Korea. The company said, "It is meaningful to have built infrastructure that provides continuous, systematic training on advanced lithography equipment in Korea in an environment where equipment and operational complexity are increasing due to the sophistication of semiconductor processes," and added, "Because high-quality training can be received promptly in Korea, it will not only save time and expense but also serve as an important foundation for enhancing engineers' capabilities and expertise in line with the pace of semiconductor technology advancement."
About 20 classrooms and 25 dedicated instructors are stationed at the ASML Global Training Center Korea. It offers more than 130 training programs, including an advanced EUV equipment course (Fab ready2). Trainees can handle parts under the same conditions as on production lines and receive hands-on, practice-oriented instruction.
ASML Korea plans to also conduct training here on next-generation semiconductor manufacturing equipment (High-NA EUV).
ASML opened a training facility, Hands On Academy, in Korea in 2010 to build engineering capabilities for installing and upgrading its equipment. ASML Korea opened its first global EUV training center for basic training at its Dongtan headquarters in 2018, and in 2023, it further expanded with a Global Training Center in Yongin specialized in advanced EUV equipment training.
Attendees at the opening ceremony for the ASML Global Training Center Korea included Choi Hanjong, CEO of ASML Korea, and Kim Namyoon, manager of the Global Training Center Korea. Choi said, "Semiconductor competitiveness is strengthened not only by the efforts of individual corporations but also when the technological and talent capabilities of the entire ecosystem rise together," and added, "ASML will use the Global Training Center Korea as a hub to expand training and practice infrastructure to support customers' technology advancement, and will continue to invest in cultivating professional talent equipped with sufficient education and training."