SKC Co. will mass produce high-end mask blanks this year, enabling self-sufficiency for its sister chipmaking SK Hynix Co. which previously relied more than 90 percent on Japanese import for the part essential in wafer fabrication process.

Mask blank is a core material in photomasking process in which a circuit pattern is drawn during the semiconductor lithography process.

SKC under the SK Group currently is testing its prototype of the masks with local semiconductor manufacturers and plans to start

mass production in the second half of this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Monday.

The company built a new blank mask plant late last year after investing a total of 43 billion won ($35 million) since 2018. It could speed up the factory operation thanks to the Korean government’s support local manufacturers to reduce their reliance on Japanese materials imports.

Blank masks are among the top 20 tech materials that Korea imports heavily from Japan. Korean semiconductor makers depend more than 90 percent of their blank mask needs on Japanese makers. The Korean government has been working to help reduce Korean firms’ hefty dependency on Japanese suppliers on high-tech materials, including blank masks, by supporting the expansion of their local production, tech development, and diversifying overseas supply chains.

The efforts picked up speed after Japan in July last year curbed shipments of key materials used in producing memory chips – Korea’s key export items, in a complaint over Korean court rulings ordering Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of Japan’s forced labor during World War II.

Total 100 tech material, parts, and equipment have been selected for the Korean government’s support for expanding their local production of high-tech materials. Of the 100 key strategic items, the government aims to secure stable local supplies of 20 items by next year and the remaining 80 within five years.

The government plans to inject over 210 billion won this year alone to help commercialize the strategic items, said vice trade minister Cheong Seung-il during his visit to SKC’s mask factory on Monday.