Hsinchu, Taiwan, April 21, 2017 - United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced that it will adopt a 1km stretch of beach near Taiwan’s Nanliao Port as part of the corporate beach adoption program promoted by the Environmental Protection Administration. UMC holds beach cleaning activities annually, with this year’s event being hosted by UMC’s CEO, Po Wen Yen, who will lead around 500 volunteers consisting of the company’s management team, employees, and their families to clean the Happy Beach in Nanliao Village, Hsinchu City, and the Sunset Platform in Anping District on Earth Day (Apr. 22).

“Based on previous beach cleaning experience over the years, the ocean is mainly polluted by human trash such as single-use plastic items,” said CEO Yen. “If we don’t make improvements, the volume of trash in the ocean will exceed that of fish by 2050. Furthermore, surface-level micro-plastics created by decomposing larger plastic items absorb more harmful substances before decomposition. This plastic enters the food chain by polluting seafood, which in turn damages our health as it accumulates in our bodies. Future generations will also lose the opportunity to see the beautiful ocean. We cannot imagine children snorkeling in a sea of trash, or how high the plastic concentration will be in children’s bodies. It is time we call for a change. Everyone who participates in the beach cleaning today will be an advocate of environmental protection. We will say ‘no’ to one-time use containers and use less plastic starting from today. One person can affect ten. Let’s spread environmental ideas and contribute to the protection of the Earth.”

UMC spares no effort in advocating ecological conservation, starting the ECO-echo project for hope and ecology conservation in 2014. In 2016, the ECO-echo Award was established with Global Views Monthly to sponsor the NGO’s ecological conservation projects. In 2016, the following projects were awarded: “Saving the Endangered Pararasbora” by the Eshin community in Puli Township, Nantou County; “Survey on Plastic Particles in Mitre Squids” by the Taiwan Association for Marine Environmental Education; “Bird Habitat Conservation in Xiangshan Wetlands” by the Chinese Wild Bird Federation; and “Together with the Xuejia Wetlands” by the Tainan City Ecological Conservation Association. Submissions for the second ECO-echo Award will officially begin on Earth Day on April 22. The total prize will be higher than last year’s NT$1 million. UMC welcomes NGOs and non-profits devoted to environmental protection to participate in the awards. Please visit the ECO-echo Award website for details: https://www.gvm.com.tw/ecoechoaward/

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced IC production for applications spanning every major sector of the electronics industry. UMC’s comprehensive foundry solutions enable chip designers to leverage the company’s sophisticated technology and manufacturing, which include high volume 28nm High-K/Metal Gate technology, 14nm FinFET mass production, ultra-low power platform processes specifically developed for Internet of Things (IoT) applications and the automotive industry’s highest-rated AEC-Q100 Grade-0 manufacturing capabilities for the production of ICs found in vehicles. UMC’s 11 wafer fabs are strategically located throughout Asia and are able to produce nearly 600,000 wafers per month. The company employs over 19,000 people worldwide, with offices in Taiwan, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.

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 introduction of new services and technologies, future outsourcing, competition, wafer capacity, 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. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. UMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.