Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 14, 2000 - UMC (NYSE: UMC, TAIEX: 230today announced the appointment of Geert Jan Davids as vice president of sales and marketing of UMC's European office. Davids brings substantial foundry sales and process development experience to his new leadership position, having managed sales and business at TSMC and engineering at Philips Semiconductors. He is in charge of managing and developing UMC's European market and will report directly to Jim Kupec, senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales.

Kupec said, "As the leading pure-play foundry in Europe, UMC has a vested interest in further developing this very significant market. Our commitment to this region is demonstrated by our strategic partnerships with several European companies, including a technology alliance with Germany's Infineon Technologies. We are confident that the experience and knowledge Davids brings to our company will help us to further solidify our lead in this important region."

"UMC is renowned for its foundry technology leadership and world-class manufacturing. These qualities, along with its excellent customer service and support, put UMC in the ideal position to expand on its standing as Europe's leading foundry. I am proud to be a part of UMC's team and look forward to helping fulfill its strategic business goals in Europe," said Davids.

Davids brings 17 years of engineering and sales management experience in the semiconductor and foundry industries to the position. Prior to joining UMC, Davids worked at TSMC for five years, first as sales manager and then as business manager of its European Sales Office in Amsterdam. He previously spent 12 years at Philips Semiconductors in various engineering and management capacities. This included assignments at TSMC's SRAM program in Hsin Chu, Taiwan and at Philips / Signetics' Qubic BiCMOS program in Sunnyvale, CA USA. During his time at Philips' Research Labs in the Netherlands, Davids authored and co-authored papers at IEDM, ISSCC and ESSDERC conferences. He holds several patents in the field of embedded CCD digital video memories and a Masters in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Note From UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and technological and development risks.