According to Liberty Times, PSMC (力積電) Chairman Huang Chong-jen (黃崇仁) died on July 31, 2026, of cardiopulmonary failure at age 76; UDN's report of the company's own announcement puts his age at 77. Commentator Roger Hsieh (謝金河) said Huang made a special trip to see him days earlier, calling it in hindsight a farewell visit. Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) called Huang's death a loss for Taiwan's industry and the nation.
When did Huang Chong-jen pass away, at what age, and what was the cause of death?
According to Liberty Times, PSMC (力積電) Chairman Huang Chong-jen (黃崇仁) "passed away yesterday (the 31st) around noon, at the age of 76" [E1]. The same report specifies the cause: "PSMC Chairman Huang Chong-jen died of cardiopulmonary failure, passing away peacefully in his sleep at home yesterday (the 31st) around noon" [E2].
UDN's report, which cites PSMC's own corporate announcement, gives a different age. It states: "Foundry operator PSMC announced yesterday that Chairman Huang Chong-jen died of cardiopulmonary failure, passing away peacefully in his sleep at home, at the age of 77" [E8]. The two outlets agree on the date (July 31, 2026), the cause of death (cardiopulmonary failure), and the circumstance (death in his sleep at home), but differ on his exact age at death:
Source
Reported Age
Cause of Death
Date
Liberty Times (via ec.ltn.com.tw) [E1][E2]
76
Cardiopulmonary failure
July 31, 2026
UDN, citing PSMC company announcement (via money.udn.com) [E8]
77
Cardiopulmonary failure
July 31, 2026 (reported Aug. 1)
What happened during Roger Hsieh's last meeting with Huang?
Roger Hsieh (謝金河), the financial commentator, posted on Facebook recalling his final encounter with Huang. Per the Liberty Times report of Hsieh's post: "Huang knew I was coming, so he specially asked his driver to bring him to the restaurant — it seemed he really wanted to talk with me. He only stayed for a few minutes, chatting with me about the new memory-chip landscape brought by AI. He remained unshakeably optimistic, believing that in this wave of AI, there may no longer be any semiconductor manufacturing stock priced under NT$100" [E4].
Looking back on that brief visit, Hsieh wrote: "I now instinctively feel he came specially to say goodbye to me!" [E3].
How did Hsieh describe their decade-long relationship?
Hsieh's post traced back more than a decade of professional contact with Huang. According to the report: "Over the past decade or so, Mr. Huang has always been a guest I interviewed. From Powerchip Semiconductor's delisting in 2015, to Elpida's bankruptcy, to PSMC's re-listing, to the future of Taiwan's memory industry, Chairman Huang has always been someone I sought out for guidance" [E5]. This account frames Huang not as a one-off interview subject but as a recurring source Hsieh consulted across multiple corporate turning points — the delisting, a bankruptcy, and a re-listing — over roughly ten years.
How did Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin assess Huang's contributions?
UDN reported that Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) responded to the news the following day, on August 1, 2026. Kung "said today that the passing of PSMC Chairman Huang Chong-jen is a loss for Taiwan's industry and for the nation" [E6].
Kung also pointed to a specific business decision he and Huang had discussed while Huang was alive: the sale of PSMC factory space to Micron (美光). The report states: "While Huang Chong-jen was alive, the two of them discussed multiple times PSMC's sale of its plant to Micron, viewing it as a decision that was 'good for PSMC, good for Micron, and good for both Taiwan and the U.S.,' and also a major contribution to the global semiconductor industry" [E7].
Who is now acting chairman of PSMC?
According to UDN, PSMC's vice chairman has stepped into the role on an interim basis: "PSMC Vice Chairman Hsieh Tsai-chu (謝再居) will act as chairman in accordance with the law" [E9].
What this means
The two outlets converge on the core facts of Huang's death — cardiopulmonary failure, at home, in his sleep, on July 31, 2026 — while diverging on his exact age (76 per Liberty Times [E1][E2] versus 77 per PSMC's own announcement as reported by UDN [E8]), leaving that detail unresolved. What both Hsieh's personal account [E3][E4][E5] and Kung's official statement [E6][E7] share is a picture of Huang as active until the end: still making a personal trip to talk AI-driven memory trends with Hsieh days before his death [E4], and still engaged, per Kung, in shaping the Micron plant-sale decision that Kung called a contribution to the global semiconductor industry [E7]. With Huang gone, PSMC's leadership has passed, at least on an acting basis, to Vice Chairman Hsieh Tsai-chu [E9].
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