**Impact of Supply Competition Conflict… Hanwha Semitek’s Past Patent Dispute
Potential for Additional Defections in Large Company Group Catering Contracts**
When Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, a Hanwha Group affiliate, acquired Ourhome, Hanmi Semiconductor, a former group catering contract company of Ourhome, terminated its contract early. /The Fact DB
After Hanwha Hotels & Resorts took over Ourhome, semiconductor equipment company Hanmi Semiconductor was the first major business to terminate its group catering contract with Ourhome prematurely.
According to the industry on the 16th, Hanmi Semiconductor recently decided to end its catering contract with Ourhome, originally scheduled until December this year, by July.
The industry speculates that the termination of Hanmi Semiconductor’s deal with Ourhome was influenced by conflicts with Hanwha Semitek, managed by Hanwha’s third son, Vice President Kim Dong-sun. This has led to concerns that more large company contracts with Ourhome could end following Hanmi Semiconductor’s lead.
Hanmi Semiconductor is the global leader in the TC bonder market for HBM (high bandwidth memory) production equipment. It is known that this decision reflects the intentions of top management.
Kim Dong-sun, the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, is involved in the management of Hanwha Semitek. Vice President Kim joined Hanwha Semitek in February as the head of future vision strategy and incorporated Ourhome into the Hanwha Group by acquiring shares on the 15th.
Hanmi Semiconductor and Hanwha Semitek have a history of conflict over supply dealings. Hanmi Semiconductor objected when one of its major clients, SK Hynix, approved Hanwha Semitek’s TC bonder equipment.
Subsequently, Hanmi Semiconductor took legal action against Hanwha Semitek, accusing them of patent infringement, and Hanwha Semitek filed a police complaint against a Hanmi Semiconductor executive for defamation. Hanmi Semiconductor appeared to conclude that maintaining a stable relationship with Ourhome, now part of the Hanwha Group, would be challenging due to the intensifying technical conflicts.
Ourhome is a family-owned enterprise where more than 98% of the shares were held by descendants of Koo In-hwoi, the founder of the LG Group, including the children of the late former chairman Koo Ja-hak. This background allowed them to maintain stable catering contracts with affiliated groups such as LG, LS, GS, and LX. With Ourhome’s ownership change to the Hanwha Group, which is not an LG affiliate, there are concerns about negative impacts on maintaining existing contracts.
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