The semiconductor sector in South Korea He is not going through his best moment. Although the country continues to be a leader in the production of memory chips – a key piece of its economy – Samsung and SK Hynix are struggling to meet the growing demand in the midst of the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI). All this occurs while the development of advanced logic chip technology shows signs of stagnation and, if this were not enough, South Korea has been losing weight in the global market for three years.
As EDAILY reports, some members of the industry and academia have addressed this situation during a seminar. Lee Hyuk-jae, co-president of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK), has not hesitated to assure that South Korean memory chips, once considered superior, have entered the era of standardization. In this sense, the country runs the risk of losing competitiveness in a context where foreign rivals are reducing the technological gap.
KSMC, un TSMC surcoreano
During the meeting, the creation of a manufacturing model like that of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The idea is to develop a balanced and diversified manufacturing ecosystem that includes both mature and cutting-edge nodes. But to achieve it would require, among other things, a multimillion-dollar investment.
The plan proposed by the experts points out that an investment of 20 trillion won (US$13.9 billion) would serve to obtain 300 trillion won (US$208.7 billion) in economic benefits by 2045. “Taiwan maintains a balanced ecosystem in which companies such as UMC and PSMC focus on mature and mid-technology processes, complementing TSMC’s advanced manufacturing,” they said.
Having TSMC as a model makes a lot of sense. We are talking about a company whose success is indisputable: it accounts for more than 50% of the market of the manufacturing of integrated circuits. Now, the question is how South Korea would go about having a hypothetical Korea Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (KSMC). The answer is with much, much government support, something that has been key for TSMC since its inception.
TSMC, founded by Morris Chang in 1987, was born as a result of a collaboration between the state, Philips and a group of private investors. A detail that often goes unnoticed is the key role of the public sector in its creation. Through the National Development Fund, the state contributed a significant sum of capital, achieving an initial 48.30% stake in the company in its early days.
The Government of Taiwan, through the National Development Fund, is TSMC’s largest individual shareholder.
More than three decades have passed since then and names such as BlackRock, Capital Research and Management Company, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, Norges Bank and The Vanguard Group have achieved notable participation. Taiwan’s National Development Fund, for its part, remains the largest individual shareholderwith just over 6% of the company.
We will have to wait to find out if this proposal will finally become a reality. It emerged earlier this year that the South Korean government wanted to boost its semiconductor industry by building the largest chip center on the planet, but sudden — and repeated — leadership changes in the country could slow or thwart plans.
President Yoon Suk Yeol was interested in improving his country’s position in the field of semiconductors. Exactly one year ago I had traveled to the Netherlands, the home of ASML, with the intentions to forge an alliance. But Yoon Suk Yeol is no longer in power. He was dismissed two weeks ago by Parliament. Han Duck-soo, who took over as interim president, was just dismissed this Friday.
Images | Aboodi Communication | Maxence Pyra | LN
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