Urgent support needed to protect Korea’s chip leadership

On the 14th, a forum on “Korea’s Challenges in Reclaiming Semiconductor Supremacy” was held at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeouido, Seoul. (Han Joo-hyung)

South Korea desperately needs full-scale support to remain a semiconductor powerhouse as the competition intensifies in the world’s chip industries, a group of former industry ministers said.

During a recent conference, several former ministers called on Samsung Electronics Co. to revamp the company’s corporate culture and workforce, as the chip company has recently been facing what some describe as a crisis.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) invited the former Trade, Industry and Energy ministers to a special dialogue on Monday. The participants agreed that Korea needs measures, such as subsidies and other direct financial aids similar to those used by the United States, China, and Japan to keep the country’s semiconductor sector competitive.

They cited the examples of former chip giants as the reason Korea needs a much stronger semiconductor industry. Toshiba, once part of Japan‘s technological prowess, was delisted in 2023 after 74 years on the Tokyo exchange following a decade of upheaval. Similarly, the U.S.’ Intel Corp. posted a net loss of $1.61 billion in the second quarter of 2024 and is working on a spin-off of its chip fabrication business to end a year-long decline.

In his keynote speech, Hwang Cheol-Seong, a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University, warned China’s rapid expansion was a threat to Korea‘s position in the global chip market.