EXHIBIT 99.1





                 OAK TECHNOLOGY RECONSTITUTES BOARD OF DIRECTORS

           YOUNG K. SOHN BECOMES CHAIRMAN, DAVID J. RYNNE JOINS BOARD


SUNNYVALE, CALIF. -- JULY 23, 2001-- Oak Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:OAKT), a
leading provider of embedded solutions for optical storage and digital imaging,
announced today that the company has reconstituted the Company's Board of
Directors. Oak president and CEO Young K. Sohn has become Board Chairman. In
addition, David J. Rynne has joined the Board, and previous Board chairman David
Tsang and Board member Ta-Lin Hsu have left the Board to pursue other interests
in the worlds of start-up ventures and venture capital.

Young Sohn joined Oak in 1999 as president and CEO. Since joining Oak, Young has
streamlined the company's product offerings, divested several under-productive
businesses, and brought the company to profitability. Before joining Oak, he was
president of the Enterprise and Personal Storage Group, a $4 billion revenue
organization, at Quantum Corporation. Prior to Quantum, Mr. Sohn spent nine
years at Intel Corporation as marketing director of Worldwide Channel Marketing
and business unit manager of the PC chipset business. He also serves on the
Boards of Directors of PLX Technology and Hynix Semiconductor (previously
Hyundai Electronics Industries). He is also President of AAMA (Asian American
Manufactures Association) which has members from over 500 companies in the
Silicon Valley.

Rynne is a retired senior financial executive with more than 35 years of
experience in growing technology companies. Most recently, Rynne served as
executive vice president and chief financial officer at Bay Networks, where he
was responsible for completing six




acquisitions and four major equity investments in technology companies. In 1998,
he led the strategy, transaction and integration activity to successfully merge
Bay into Nortel Networks. Prior to joining Bay, Rynne served as chief financial
officer at Tandem Computers for 14 years, and held a variety of financial
management positions spanning an 18-year career at Burroughs Corporation. He
currently is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Netfuel, Inc, a programmable
network company; and serves on the Board of Directors of PD-LD, Inc., a fiber
optic component company. At Oak, he will join the compensation committee and
will chair the audit committee of the Oak Board.

"Oak appears to be a premier company in a market space with enormous potential,"
said Rynne. "I am impressed with Oak's strategy, technical strength and
management, and am excited about becoming part of the Oak team."

"We are extremely pleased to attract a financial executive of Dave Rynne's
caliber to Oak," said Sohn. "His breadth of financial experience with rapidly
growing technology companies will be of great value to Oak as we map our
strategy for the future. We thank David Tsang and Ta-Lin Hsu for their years of
wise counsel and wish them well in their future endeavors."

Tsang, the company's founder, served on the Board of Directors and as Chairman
since the company's inception in 1987. Hsu served a 10-year term as Director.

"I'd like to thank all of the employees of Oak over the years for their hard
work and tireless efforts," said David Tsang, Oak's founder and outgoing Board
Chairman. "In coming months, I intend to turn an increasing amount of my time
and attention to my new venture, an incubator project called Acorncampus.com.
"It's not easy to leave but I



know Oak is in very capable hands with Young, his management team and the
current board."

ABOUT OAK TECHNOLOGY

Oak Technology, Inc., a leading provider of solutions for the storage,
manipulation and distribution of digital content, is committed to driving the
emerging world of connected Information Appliances. The company's fully
integrated products and technologies target two key markets: optical storage
(CD-RW and DVD for PC and consumer) and digital imaging (advanced copiers,
printers, faxes, scanners and MFPs). Founded in 1987, Oak is headquartered in
Sunnyvale, Calif., and has sales offices, design centers and research facilities
around the world. The company trades on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the
symbol OAKT. Additional information about Oak and its digital solutions can be
found at www.oaktech.com.


"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: In addition to the historical information contained herein, statements in
this press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Federal securities laws and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby.
Forward-looking statements herein include, but not limited to, the amount and
time of potential purchases of the company's Common Stock. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from actual future
events or results. The following are among the factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: Factors that
could cause actual outcome to differ materially from those set forth include,
without limitation, the rate of adoption of new technology, the rate of growth
of the CD-RW market, changes in product mix or distribution channels; the demand
for semiconductors and end-user products that incorporate semiconductors;
technological difficulties and resource constraints encountered in developing
and/or introducing new products, and market acceptance of new products.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding expected
financial results, industry trends, sales and future product development and
business strategies and activities should be considered in light of these
factors, and those factors discussed from time to time the Company's public
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as those
discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10K for fiscal year ending June
30, 2000, and in quarterly reports on Form 10Q.