 |
| Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plant in Xi'an, China. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
Gov't says latest US move will have limited impact on Korean chip makers
By Kim Hyun-bin
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are on high alert over the Biden administration's latest move to restrict the exports of U.S. semiconductor equipment and high-powered chips to China to curb the rise of the world's second-largest economy in high-tech industries, according to industry officials Sunday.
The Korean government said the measures will have no immediate impact on Korean chipmakers operating in China, saying non-Chinese companies can still secure American equipment and parts by receiving permits from the U.S. government. Samsung and SK said they will closely work with the government to deal with the latest U.S. export ban.
On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Commerce slapped a set of restrictions aiming to cut China off from high-powered semiconductors used in artificial intelligence and supercomputers, and chip equipment, in a bid to cripple Beijing's access to critical technologies that are needed for everything from supercomputing to guided weapons.
Logic chips using so-called nonplanar transistors made with 16-nanometer technology or anything more advanced are restricted along with 18-nanometer dynamic random access memory chips and Nand-style flash memory chips with 128 layers or more.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the U.S. measures will have a limited impact on the domestic industry.
"Korea and the U.S. have conducted close consultations through various channels, including export control authorities and diplomatic channels," the trade ministry said in a press release, Saturday. "There is no domestic production of advanced computing chips subject to export restrictions, so there will be no short-term impact."
 |
| SK hynix Chongqing semiconductor package & test factory in Chongqing, China. / Courtesy of SK hynix |
Although export licenses are denied to Chinese companies in principle, multinational companies in China, including Korean ones there, can receive approvals on a case-by-case basis, it said.
"The SK Wuxi plant and Samsung's Xi'an plant operating in China are classified as subject to case-by-case review, unlike Chinese companies, so there will be no significant disruption to equipment supply," the ministry said.
In order to minimize the impact of this measure on the Korean industry, the ministry plans to actively participate in the U.S. Department of Commerce's briefing session and a 60-day opinion-gathering procedure to further express the views of the industry.
The Korea-U.S. export control working group will be held as soon as possible to intensively discuss the difficulties faced by companies, according to ministry officials.
However, the move is expected to complicate the operations of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in China, as they must undergo a case-by-case review by Washington to sell advanced chips to China.
SK Hynix, which operates a DRAM plant in Wuxi, a post-processing plant in Chongqing, and a NAND plant in Dalian that it acquired from Intel, said it will try its best to secure export permits from the U.S.
"We will work closely with the government to do everything we can to prepare the necessary procedures and documents to secure individual permits from the U.S.," SK hynix said. "We will work hard to minimize the impact on the domestic semiconductor industry by working with the government to ensure that our Chinese factories can operate without problems."
Previously, Samsung Electronics' DS division head, Kyung Kye-hyun, who also leads the company's U.S.-led semiconductor supply chain consultative body known as Chip 4, said in September, "It is necessary to distinguish between what the government is doing and what companies are doing. We are working hard to find a solution."
"It is fortunate that there is no intention to attack Korean companies, but the government and companies should cooperate well to prevent trade secrets from being leaked during the U.S. licensing process," an industry official said.
![[INTERVIEW] 'One Day Off' star Lee Na-young, director on creating subtle, feel-good series](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/796618f56a44402eabe81fe4530ab988.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Lee Jun-hyuk unrecognizable in 'The Roundup: No Way Out'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/77a9da6df7da4284adbee249a87307c1.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
