Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the company’s semiconductor headquarters in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, to check on its operations, the tech giant said Friday.

The heir apparent discussed Samsung’s road map for next-generation semiconductor development, including memory and system-on-chips, strategies for manufacturing facilities and materials and long-term measures to respond to the COVID-19 impact.

Lee also visited the chipmaker’s research and development center to encourage engineers. The center is currently developing the world’s first 3-nanometer semiconductor process technology.

“This is a brutal crisis,” Lee said. “How fast we own future technologies will determine our survival. We have no time.”

The heir also met with heads of the workplace environment and safety management teams in order to stress the importance of safety of the working environment.

Since the prosecutors’ request to issue an arrest warrant on Lee last Monday, he has been showing that he is back to work by making visits to Samsung’s major businesses and meeting with executives to discuss strategies.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)