As a loyal follower of the United States in East Asia, South Korea has always adhered to the balanced strategy of "safety depends on the United States and the economy depends on China" in the past 30 years, ensuring South Korea's unique position as the " global economy canary". And when Trump and Biden clearly regarded China's semiconductor industry as their main target, South Korea, which has close economic exchanges with China, was also involved.
According to a report released by the Global Times citing a Korean media report, the South Korean Ministry of Trade and Industry clearly pointed out in a public data recently disclosed that Samsung Electronics invested a total of US$3.8 billion in the United States between 1997 and 2020, accounting for only 22% of the US$17.1 billion investment in China during the same period. Moreover, Samsung Electronics is still planning to invest additionally today, building new assembly lines in cities such as Shanghai and Xi'an. Another major Korean semiconductor manufacturer, SK Hynix , has never opened a factory in the United States. The only overseas investment is China, and the total investment exceeds Samsung Electronics, reaching US$24.9 billion.
Korean semiconductor giants are optimistic about China and even dare to place heavy bets in China, not only because China is the world's largest single consumer market for semiconductor , but also because China's supply chain is very complete and can perfectly undertake the task of increasing production from international manufacturers. This unique charm makes South Korean semiconductor giants refuse to engage in the so-called "decoupling" with China. In the industry's view, this "decoupling" and self-seeking death are not essentially different. Especially when international competition is so fierce, a decrease in revenue means a shrinking market share, which means that the funds used for technology research and development and reproduction will be reduced. Over time, corporate competitiveness will decline at a visible speed, which is absolutely unacceptable to the ambitious Korean semiconductor industry.
It is precisely because of pressure from the domestic semiconductor industry that the Yoon Seo-yeol administration, which holds a pro-US stance, has to act cautiously. The Biden administration has repeatedly put pressure on South Korea to force the other party to join the four-party chip alliance led by the United States as soon as possible.
Its purpose is to maximize the living space of Chinese semiconductors and to encircle Chinese semiconductors by directly cutting off trade, but the Biden administration did not realize that their behavior hit another sensitive point in the Korean semiconductor industry. According to data released by South Korea's authoritative department on the 24th, among the top 100 semiconductor companies in the world with market value, only 3 South Korea has shortlisted, 7 are nearby Japan, 10 are Taiwan that masters semiconductor manufacturing technology, 28 are the United States, a major technology country, and 42 companies have emerged in mainland China, which has mature supporting facilities and a huge consumer market.
These data fully demonstrate that if South Korean semiconductors want to continue to maintain sufficient competitiveness and market position, they cannot let the US command be allowed. Once you choose to obey the US arrangements and rashly "decouple" with China, although it can cause harm to China's semiconductor industry for a period of time, under China's industry support policy, domestic semiconductors will one day get out of the shadow.
By then, South Korea will not only have to bear the loss of revenue, but will also face fierce competition from its Chinese counterparts in the future. Even if South Korea's semiconductor has a first-mover advantage over China, China can survive by relying on its huge local market, which is a natural advantage that South Korea's semiconductor has never had. In fact, South Korean politics has also realized that the United States, as an ally, is not so much about strangling Chinese semiconductors, but rather destroying the basic structure of the global semiconductor industry layout in Asia. If South Korea does not want to "make a wedding dress for others", it must do all means to protect itself.
