South Korean mature process foundry DB Hitek (Dongbu Hi-Tech) has recently confirmed its plans to expand its wafer foundry operations to cover 12-inch wafer foundry services.

As part of the plan, the company needs to invest 2.5 trillion won to ensure a production capacity of 20,000 12-inch wafers per month, said Choi Chang-shik, CEO of DB Hitek.

The information shows that Dongbu HiTek is a Korea-based semiconductor foundry, also known as DB HiTek, which provides foundry services from 8-inch to 12-inch wafers, including CMOS, image sensor, memory, RF and other types of chip manufacturing. Founded in 1999, DB HiTek is one of the leading foundries in Korea.

The company announced earlier this month that it plans to spin off its non-wafer manufacturing business to focus more on its main chip foundry business. Choi Chang-shik, however, did not reveal a specific timeline for when the company will begin construction of its 12-inch fab.