Semiconductor Boom Turns Korean Chip-Equipment Founder Into A Billionaire

The AI-driven memory boom has turned Park Kyoung-soo, founder of PSK Holdings, into a billionaire. Shares of the South Korean chip-equipment maker, which trades on South Korea’s tech-focused Kosdaq exchange, surged more than threefold over the past year.

Park, 73, who owns roughly 35% of PSK Holdings, including shares held by his three daughters, is the company’s largest shareholder. Based on that stake, Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.1 billion at Thursday’s market close.

Based in Hwaseong, south of Seoul and near Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor factories, PSK Holdings makes machines that clean and connect the components inside high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other advanced semiconductor packages. These packages place AI processors close to stacks of HBM, allowing data to move rapidly between the processor and memory. In the first half of this year, revenue rose 14% year over year to 75.3 billion won ($55 million), while net income climbed 35% to 44 billion won.

One of its main products, Ecolite, uses plasma to remove microscopic residue left behind when chipmakers use a light-sensitive material called photoresist to create redistribution layers, which are microscopic copper wires that carry electrical signals between chips and other components inside the package. Another main product, Geneva, melts tiny pieces of solder that electrically connect one chip or layer to another—a critical step in assembling packages that combine AI processors with stacks of HBM.

Park is the latest South Korean entrepreneur to join the billionaire ranks through the semiconductor industry. Other Korean semiconductor billionaires include Kwak Dong Shin of HBM-equipment maker Hanmi Semiconductor; Sung Kyu-dong of memory chip laser-equipment maker EO Technics; Kim Sang-beom of printed circuit board manufacturer ISU Petasys; and Lee Chae-yoon of Leeno Industrial, a maker of components for chip-testing equipment.

More from Forbes