In the past, there has always been a contradiction between South Korea and Japan in semiconductors. In 2019, Japan adopted a strategy of cutting off the supply of South Korean semiconductors and banned the export of key raw materials. This is a major blow to South Korea's semiconductor industry. Although Japan removed South Korean companies from the blacklist last year, South Korea still relies on the Japanese ** chain and is vulnerable to the ban.
However, what is surprising is that South Korean semiconductor companies have begun to increase their stake in the Japanese market. According to the news, Samsung will invest $2 billion to set up a research base in Japan to deepen the cooperative relationship with the Japanese semiconductor chain. Samsung's goal is not ambitious, but it hopes to improve the yield rate of its chips with the help of Japanese semiconductor technology and compete with TSMC.
This move caused quite a stir in the global semiconductor industry. It means that South Korea and Japan will strengthen cooperation in the field of cutting-edge chips, but it also means that South Korean semiconductor companies will be more easily controlled by Japan. Considering the historical contradictions between them, this cooperation is all the more important.
The U.S. semiconductor industry may be concerned about this. First of all, the attitude of the United States towards the development of Korean semiconductors in the cutting-edge field is very interesting. On the one hand, they have restricted the export of EUV lithography machines, and although they are openly oriented to the Chinese market, they have actually included South Korean chip giants in the scope. On the other hand, in terms of cutting-edge technology cooperation, the United States has actively wooed TSMC and increased cooperation with Japanese semiconductors, announcing that the two sides will jointly conquer cutting-edge fields.
It stands to reason that the United States has been trying to win over South Korean semiconductors, and they should also cooperate with South Korean semiconductors in cutting-edge fields. However, this is not the case, which indicates that the U.S. semiconductor industry sees South Korea's development as a threat to some extent. They originally wanted to marginalize South Korean semiconductors, but now that South Korea and Japan are deepening, this is undoubtedly what the United States does not want to see.
What they don't want to see is that in the tripartite cooperation of chips, South Korean semiconductors and Japan cooperate more closely, while South Korea and the United States have not expressed their position. In addition, they believe that a balance should be maintained between the two markets, rather than taking sides. In a way, they seem to exclude themselves.
In addition, the Japanese semiconductor industry also has ambitions, and by working closely with Korean semiconductors, it will directly become a competitor to the American industry. It seems that the challenge will be even greater for the United States to develop a local chip manufacturing program.
This is indeed good news for us. The strengthening of cooperation between South Korean semiconductors and Japanese semiconductors has reduced the pressure of "encirclement and suppression" from the United States and won some buffer period for us. This is an opportunity for the development of our own semiconductor industry.
To sum up, South Korean companies have invested $2 billion to set up a research base in Japan to deepen the cooperative relationship with the Japanese semiconductor chain. This move has attracted the attention of the global semiconductor industry, especially for the US industry, and could trigger a series of reactions. However, for us, this is an opportunity and a development that needs to be closely watched. We hope to create a better environment for the development of our semiconductor industry through balance and cooperation.