Korean govt, chip industry form consultative body to tackle global challenges

Samsung Electronics Co.`s Texas plant in Austin [Source: Samsung Electronics Co.]

The South Korean government has launched an industry-wide council to respond to difficulties chip makers face amid intensifying international competition.

The consultative body, comprised of representatives from 30 semiconductor companies and research centers, including chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, will collaborate to support local players’ stronger global growth, the Ministry of Trade, Infrastructure and Energy said in a press release on Tuesday.

Upon launching, the government and industry players revisited the key action plans outlined in the state’s semiconductor industry growth strategy unveiled in May. The consultative body will continue to monitor the progress and add a team for active response to any investment related issues, such as regulatory hurdles, according to the trade ministry.

Local semiconductor industry players raise hope the consultative body to respond better to pressures at home and abroad.

Last week, the U.S. government asked global chip manufacturers including Samsung Electronics to submit chip sales data and other sensitive information, citing increasing transparency in the chip supply chain and resolving global chip shortage problem.

Revealing such internal inventory information, such as chip sales and order data, however, would mean exposing chip producer’s competitiveness in manufacturing and products under development. To date, Samsung Electronics has not publicly disclosed details on logic chip business as well as detailed earnings data on other chip products.

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