UMC Receives High Marks for Several Criteria Across Multiple Fields

HSINCHU, Taiwan, Sep 08, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- UMC (NYSE:UMC) (TSE:2303), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today
announced that it has been selected as a global component of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Indexes following their 2008 annual review. UMC
scored high marks for several criteria across multiple fields, including
top scores in the areas of innovation management and standards for
suppliers. Of the 33 new entries for 2008, UMC was the only Taiwanese
company chosen for inclusion. UMC's listing
underscores the company's strength in
sustainability and commitment to long-term business performance.

Dr. Shih-Wei Sun, CEO from UMC, said, "We are
proud that UMC's accomplishments in corporate
sustainability have been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability
Indexes, one of the most respected indexes worldwide. This milestone has
provided us with further motivation to keep improving our operations
ethically and transparently. Going forward, we will continue to work
towards enhancing UMC's corporate
sustainability and business success in order to bring maximum value to
our customers and shareholders."

The annual review of the DJSI family is based on a thorough analysis of
corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing
issues such as corporate governance, risk management, branding, climate
change mitigation, supply chain standards and labor practices. It
accounts for general as well as industry specific sustainability
criteria for each of 57 industries defined according to the Industry
Classification Benchmark (ICB). In the 2008 assessment, the weighting of
industry specific criteria was increased to 57 percent --
up from 50% last year and from 30% in 1999.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE:UMC) (TSE:2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that
manufactures advanced system-on-chip (SoC) designs for applications
spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC's
customer-driven approach allows chips designers to leverage the strength
of the company's advanced technologies, which
include production proven 90nm, 65nm, mixed signal/RFCMOS, and a wide
range of specialty technologies. Production is supported through 10
wafer manufacturing facilities that include two advanced 300mm fabs; Fab
12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i are both in volume production
for a variety of customer products. The company employs approximately
13,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore,
Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.

SOURCE: UMC

KJ Communications 
Eileen Elam, 408-927-7753 (USA) 
eileen@kjcompr.com 
or 
UMC 
Alex Hinnawi, (886) 2-2700-6999 ext. 6958 (Taiwan)

Copyright Business Wire 2008