“Korean semiconductors could end up like Toshiba or Intel，” former South Korean cabinet ministers criticize Korean internet users say “It’s too late now．”
On October 15, 2024, South Korea’s Kukmin Ilbo published an article titled “Former Cabinet Ministers Criticize: ’Korean Semiconductor Could End Up Like Toshiba and Intel’.” According to the article, the Korea Business Association held a special roundtable on the 14th to discuss the crisis facing the Korean semiconductor industry, with attendees including Hwang Cheol-seong, chair professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Materials Engineering, former Minister of Knowledge Economy Lee Yun-ho, former Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho, and former Ministers of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo and Lee Chang-yang. Recently, rumors of a “Samsung Electronics crisis” have been floating around, but at the same time, South Korea’s semiconductor industry is at a “critical crossroads.” As rivals such as China and Taiwan are catching up technologically, there is a growing sense of crisis that South Korea may lose its leadership in advanced semiconductor markets, including artificial intelligence (AI) and aerospace. Participants called on private companies to “hurry up and switch to new technologies” and on the government to “urgently provide direct subsidy support.” Professor Hwang gave a lecture on the theme of “The Future and Strategy of Korea’s Semiconductor Industry,” and expressed the view that “Korea’s DRAM technology will reach its limits within five years.” He also mentioned that China’s CXMT and YMTC already account for 10% and 3% of the DRAM and NAN flash memory market in the January-March period of this year, and noted that as exports to Europe and the United States are not yet possible, the market is based on domestic demand in China, but he pointed out that the problem is that it is unclear how long the US restrictions on China will continue, and stressed that a shift to new technologies is urgently needed. At a roundtable discussion on South Korea’s challenges in “regaining semiconductor hegemony,” participants emphasized that “the semiconductor industry is more than just a technology industry; it is an issue directly linked to national security.” They pointed out that “to win the battle for hegemony, large-scale government support is necessary, but South Korea is cautious about providing direct support in the form of subsidies, fearing that this could be seen as favoritism towards large corporations.” Regarding the theory of a crisis at Samsung Electronics, former Minister Lee Yun-ho pointed out, “Samsung Electronics has been enjoying the success of DRAM for so long that it seems the tension as an organization has eased.” Former Minister Lee Chang-yang stated, “As a leading company, Samsung needs to keep its antennae high in terms of technology and management, observe its rival companies, and make efforts such as accepting good technology or making acquisitions or joint ventures.” In response to this article, Korean internet users commented, “The government has never worried about companies before, so it’s too late now,” “The previous administration really bullied Samsung,” “The government, which put the owner of a company in prison at such a critical time, should deeply reflect on its actions and apologize to the people,” and “Samsung’s labor union says its goal is to destroy the company. There’s no way the company will do well if they keep people like that instead of firing them.” “China’s pursuit is the problem. Dumping for large-scale expansion. “Samsung will be so badly affected that it will collapse within 10 years,” are some of the comments being made. (Translation and editing by Mae) record korea Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 12:00 p.m.
>>1 Subsidies are impossible. As long as the opposition party, whose support base is the working class, holds a majority in Parliament, a budget proposal that favors capitalists will not pass Parliament.
It’s too late. Semiconductors change roughly every 10 years, and it’s an industry that requires huge investments. I think 1 trillion yen a year is a small price to pay. It’s a whole different order of magnitude, about 10 trillion to 100 trillion yen. I don’t think Korea can afford that amount. We shouldn’t forget that even if Samsung didn’t pass and SK passed, there’s a chance that neither company will hire him.
Even though 35nm and 40nm are considered outdated, they are still in use and I think they are still new. If you make it any smaller than that, it becomes too delicate and is not suitable for cars and is prone to breaking. Intel’s CPUs have also been damaged because they couldn’t withstand the test of time. It’s not enough to just make it smaller. The 65nm that Russia is aiming for can be run on many machines, so I think it’s a good idea. It’s kind of stupid to say that South Korea is making it smaller and is cutting edge.
It’s time to move on to the next phase of following in Japan’s footsteps. All they need to do is shift to a business selling manufacturing equipment and materials.
It’s amazing that they’re even in a position to compete with Taichung. It’s better than Japan escaping reality by saying “Japan is amazing!” It’s about time we made it more popular to say “This is what’s amazing about other countries!” Otherwise they won’t grow.
Toshiba: A zombie that’s only surviving thanks to nuclear power plants and the Self-Defense Forces lol Hitachi: All they do is make air conditioners and trains lol Fujitsu: A shareholder in Frontale Sony: Now an insurance company Panasonic: Now a housing manufacturer The future looks bleak lol.
Semiconductors → General-purpose products are starting to be eaten up by China, and they can’t make advanced products properly Smartphones → China is starting to eat them Home appliances → Same as above New business → None M&A → Not a single one since 2018 What are they going to do? LOL.
>>31 For semiconductors, it would be better to shift to a business of selling equipment. It would be better to shift to a business of selling materials. It would be better to get into logic semiconductors. It would be better to get into power semiconductors. The possibilities are endless!
>>34 Aside from smartphone-related topics Is it impossible for Korea to conduct AI research or operate infrastructure at this point? Japan is still at the cutting edge when it comes to “research” at the university level, research institutes, and companies. It’s the same as usual in Japan when it comes to operations and business lol
Drones…even developing countries are making them for practical use lol but the difference here is how much they ignore regulations and humanity.
>>37 Since they haven’t done any basic research, it’s probably impossible to build something new. I think the most they can do is set up a service that uses gpt as a backend.
> “The semiconductor industry is more than just a technology industry; it is an issue directly linked to national security.”
Former president Moon Jae-in was anti-American and pro-Chinese. Advanced technology was flowing to China via South Korea. One of the reasons for Samsung’s current predicament is that it was abandoned by the US. In terms of national security, it’s unthinkable to partner with South Korea on semiconductors.
If you trace it back to its origins, it was removed from the whitelist, and then it tried to promote domestic production because it would no longer be able to obtain hydrogen fluoride and other materials essential to semiconductor manufacturing, but it failed miserably. Its yield dropped and Apple lost out. It also fell far short of Sony in image sensors, which were supposed to be a new source of revenue.
First of all, the developers of Korea’s semiconductors (memory) are not Korean but Japanese (NAND flash) and American (DRAM), so they should know their place.
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