As Based in Incheon, west of Seoul, Hanmi Semiconductor manufactures equipment used in semiconductor packaging—one of the final stages of chip production. Chip assemblers add packaging that includes a plastic frame to connect individual chips to circuit boards. Hanmi Semiconductor says it has more than 320 customers globally, including Jay Y. Lee’s Samsung Electronics, Chey Tae-won’s SK Hynix and ASE, run by Taiwanese billionaire brothers Jason and Richard Chang. Hanmi Semiconductor was named to the Forbes Asia Best Under A Billion list last year.
investors look for the next beneficiary of the artificial intelligence frenzy, shares of a little-known semiconductor equipment manufacturer in South Korea soared roughly 56% since Thursday, following a bullish report from Samsung Securities. The stock surge has made Kwak Dong-shin, the company’s CEO, South Korea’s newest billionaire.
Kwak, 48, is the largest shareholder of Hanmi Semiconductor, with a 35.5% stake in his own name. In July 2022, Kwak bought a 10.5% stake in HPSP, a semiconductor equipment company listed on the Kosdaq. He sold a portion of his stake in March and now holds about 9.3% of the company. Forbes estimates Kwak’s net worth at $1.4 billion as of Monday’s close.
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