May 3, 2000, Taipei: At noon today, the Boards of Directors of United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Unipac Optoelectronics (Unipac), and Worldwiser Electronics (WWEI) met for the election of their respective Chairmen. John Hsuan was elected as Chairman of UMC; Ing Dar Liu was elected as Chairman of Unipac; and T. J. Tseng was elected as Chairman of WWEI. After the elections, the three Board Meetings passed resolutions to invite Robert H. C. Tsao, the former Chairman of all three companies, to serve as Chairman of UMC Group to continue to provide strategic guidance and advice to the companies. Chairman Tsao explained that preparations for this management restructuring have been ongoing for some time. He went on to detail the three major factors that necessitated this action.

Due to the large-scale investment and rapid revenue growth of UMC, Unipac and WWEI in recent years, it is necessary for each company to have a fully dedicated Chairman to best respond to the resulting challenges. Year 2000 revenue for the three companies is conservatively forecast at NT$ 88 billion (US$ 2.9 billion) for UMC, NT$ 13.0 billion (US$ 450 million) for Unipac, and NT$ 10.0 billion (US$ 330 million) for WWEI Group. Furthermore, the timing of this management restructuring is ideal, with the three companies expected to experience explosive growth in the next year.

With the appointment of the respective Chairmen to their new positions, Chairman Tsao will be freed from the demands of daily operations. He will be in a better position to concentrate on strategic and financial planning aimed at the future development of the companies. Due to the rise of the Internet, wireless communications, genetic engineering, and a knowledge-based economy, the coming years will see changes of unprecedented speed and magnitude. Strategic planning must become a full-time occupation for top-rank management in order for companies to track these changes while pioneering new business opportunities.

UMC has consistently emphasized the importance of management rotation and restructuring, never allowing the personality of a single individual to dominate its corporate culture. These adjustments have enabled the company to maintain its vitality, and to better respond to the challenges of a dynamic industry. By starting the new millenium with this high-level management restructuring, UMC employees can be assured that job rotation is not restricted to middle and lower rank management. In fact, it extends to and is equally necessary at the highest levels of the organization. This change is expected to further strengthen the spirit of teamwork that prevails at UMC Group, and to further enhance the role of management systems at the companies.

Chairman Tsao expressed his strong confidence in the character and ability of the newly elected Chairman Hsuan, Chairman Liu, and Chairman Tseng. With their appointment, UMC Group's management will enjoy a better and more refined division of labor, increasing the breadth of vision for all of the companies and enhancing the service mentality that characterizes UMC Group's leadership. Chairman Tsao explained that a corporation's strategy should always run in advance of necessity. The course of coming events will soon prove that these management changes are best suited to the needs of the future, and will lead to greater growth for the group.

About Unipac Unipac Optoelectronics is a manufacturer of TFT-LCD displays and is the first domestic high-tech company to independently carry out R&D in the field of TFT-LCD technology. It offers a series of products using high precision COG process technology, ranging from 1.8-inch consumer monitor products to 17-inch desktop display TFT-LCDs. Unipac's newest fabs, Fab 2 and Fab 3, both use 3.5 generation technology on 610mm x 720mm glass substrates. Fab 2 entered volume production last year and has a design capacity of 30,000 substrates per month. Fab 3 will start volume production at the end of 2000. For more information visit http://www.unipac.com.tw

About WWEI WWEI has multiple manufacturing plants in Taiwan with a new plant for high-density interconnect (HDI) products to enter volume production in mid-year 2000. WWEI is a major investor in AMC (advanced PCB material), Unimicron (BGA products) and Worldwiser Technology Inc. (PCB) in Mainland China. In Nov 1999, WWEI acquired Plato Electronics (HK) Ltd. (producing double-layer and quad-layer PCB). In Dec 1999, WWEI took over the management of Subtron Technology Ltd. (producing BGA and other IC packaging substrates). For more information visit http://www.wwei.com.tw