Wu Shitai, a South Korean expert at Jiuri Semiconductor, has been awarded the Tianjin “Haihe Friendship Award.”

Recently, the results of the 2023 Tianjin “Haihe Friendship Award” were announced, and Oh Saetae (Wu Shitai), Chief Technology Expert for photoresists at Tianjin Jiuri Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jiuri Semiconductor”), was among the recipients of this prestigious honor.

The Haihe Friendship Award was established in 2016 by the Tianjin Municipal Government to honor foreign talents who have made outstanding contributions to the city’s economic and social development, and to encourage and inspire more overseas professionals to actively participate in the construction of Tianjin as a modern metropolis. Each year, ten recipients of the Haihe Friendship Award and ten nominees for the award are selected, making it the highest honor bestowed by the Tianjin Municipal Government on foreign experts.

Oh Saetae, born in May 1968, is a South Korean national and holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Jeonbuk National University, specializing in new organic materials. He has previously served as a researcher at the Korea Institute of Chemical Technology, Global R&D Head at Merck Korea, a materials‑R&D expert in the New Materials Research Group at CSOT, and Director of the Research Institute at COTEM Korea. Since January 2023, he has been with Jiuri Semiconductor, where he currently serves as the company’s Chief Technical Expert for photoresists.

Dr. Wu Shitai has spent 27 years in the semiconductor photoresist industry, studying under the renowned Professor Lee Seung-hee, the inventor of the wide‑angle optical‑modulation technology and the first Korean to receive the Jan Rajceman Prize from the Society for Information Display (SID). With extensive experience in developing semiconductor photoresist technologies and a deep understanding of LCD and OLED panel‑material manufacturing processes, Dr. Wu is an expert in solving cutting‑edge challenges in the photoresist field. Throughout his career, he has successfully developed dozens of photoresist formulations, many of which have entered mass production. His innovative process technologies have been adopted by leading LCD and OLED manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, LG Display, BOE, Japan’s AU Optronics, HKC, and CSOT, where he has provided guidance and resolved numerous production‑related technical issues.

With the support of Dr. Wu Shitai, Jiuri Semiconductor has completed the selection and procurement of a Class 1,000 cleanroom and its associated equipment, and has assembled a high‑tech R&D team to tackle key technical challenges. The company has now successfully developed multiple types of photoresists for display panels and semiconductor lithography (g‑ and i‑line), with product performance metrics that meet or even surpass those of imported products in the domestic market.

Looking ahead, Jiuri Semiconductor will start with mid- to high-end photoresists and their core raw materials, proactively plan its strategic roadmap, accelerate independent R&D and innovation, continuously achieve technological breakthroughs, deliver new performance milestones, and help Tianjin’s semiconductor industry attain high-quality development.