Taipei, Taiwan-June 6, 2001 - United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC), the world's leading semiconductor foundry, today announced the results of the election of its board of directors. Robert Tsao was elected as Chairman of UMC, and John Hsuan, Ing-Dar Liu, and Peter Chang were each elected as Vice-Chairmen of UMC.

"Despite the semiconductor slowdown during the past six months, the downturn presents an opportunity for the industry to initiate large-scale reorganizations," said Chairman Robert Tsao. "UMC has capitalized on these opportunities to implement a series of strategic business plans, which will enable us to realize more potential for rapid growth now, and the future."

UMC's strategic business plans highlight globalization in all aspects of the business; diversifying the markets, manufacturing base, workforce, and capital to best take advantage of today's global economy. The Board reorganization will enable UMC's management team to cooperate more closely with one another to better execute their strategies, so that UMC can effectively achieve its goal. UMC's top management will stress around-the-clock teamwork and even distribution of work with this new globalization strategy to further improve management efficiency.

The UMC Board also resolved to employ the most dynamic workforce in the industry to enhance UMC's status as a world-leading company. The Board agreed that all directors would devote at least one third of their time to recruiting, evaluating, training, and motivating individuals who exhibit special leadership qualities in technology, service, and efficiency.