[REPORTER'S DIARY] It's time for Korea to move on from its triumph in memory chip

The race to become the next technology powerhouse has already started, but Korea seems to be missing from the starting line.

Participants of the PIC Summit held in Eindhoven in the Netherlands in November mingle at a conference hall. [JIN EUN-SOO]

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands — At the PIC Summit held in Eindhoven in the Netherlands last month, European companies that specialize in silicon photonics — an emerging field that combines silicon and laser technology — were up to their ears, briefing about products, consulting with potential clients and networking with peers.

Silicon photonics, which uses photons instead of electrons when transmitting data, is considered one of the core technologies in the AI era, with low energy consumption and fast data transmission.

Major chip and tech players in the world, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Nvidia, Intel and even Apple, have already shown their keen interest in the field, acknowledging its potential in the future.

But oddly, Korea, which holds a formidable position in the global chip industry, still stays distanced from this field of technology.

No major Korean companies have outspokenly announced their plans to work with the advanced technology.

Words on the street say Samsung Electronics has been working on it for years but is extremely cautious about making their efforts public in case their research turns out to be not-so-successful.

SK hynix also said it currently doesn't have any ongoing projects regarding silicon photonics.

"It is hard for Korean chipmakers to break the current hegemony where it has the leadership in memory chips," one participant from the summit said on condition of anonymity.

"Samsung is not completely irrelevant to this, but it is true that Samsung, as well as other chip players in Korea, stay reluctant to investing in new technology, as their focus is extremely zoned in on memory chips and nothing so much of anything else."

While Korea is immersed in the triumph of winning in memory chips, other players have already started the race to distinguish the next-generation technology and invest in it amid fierce tech hegemony competition.

The United States, for example, has allocated $3 billion to research advanced chip packaging technology next year, which includes silicon photonics.

Europe is already fostering an ecosystem to take an early lead in the fledgling industry and secure potential clients. PhotonDelta, a non-profit Dutch organization that was established to nurture the sector across Europe, secured 1.1 billion euros last year, nearly half of which is from government funds.

Samsung's major rival TSMC is working with its major clients like Nvidia and Broadcom to develop the up-and-coming technology with a goal of starting mass production in 2025, according to reports. It has established a 200-member research team dedicated to the technology. Apple was also reported recently to utilize the technology in its future health care devices.

Although Korea has a majority share of the world's memory chip market, it lacks a presence in other areas such as designing, packaging and contract manufacturing.

The race to become the next technology powerhouse has already started, but Korea seems to be missing from the starting line.

"Europe is on its toes again to secure the next generation chip technology to take back the dominance it had once had in the global chip industry which is now largely lost to the United States and Asia," another industry source said.

Korea's dominance in memory chips won't last forever, especially with the emergence of AI, where processors have to be extremely intricate and complex. Without a proper commitment to next-generation technology and full-fledged devotion to it, Korea may be missing from the winning bloc 10 years on.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]