Korean chip companies investing in China? Korean media: The United States is considering relaxing!

Source: Semiconductor Core News

    According to reports, the US government, which restricts the export of advanced semiconductor production equipment to China, is considering applying relaxed standards only to Korean companies operating factories in China.

    According to industry and government sources on May 10, the United States Department of Commerce is negotiating with the Korean government to apply separate standards for Korean companies in China to improve predictability, while maintaining its position of controlling semiconductor equipment exports to China. These options include only prohibiting the export of equipment exceeding specific specifications to China and setting a limit on the number of semiconductors produced by Korean chip manufacturers in China.

    Samsung Electronics operates a NAND flash memory factory in Xi‘an, China, and a back-end processing plant in Suzhou, China. SK Hynix operates a DRAM factory in Wuxi and a NAND flash memory production factory in Dalian, China. These companies operate within a one-year temporary suspension period of export controls in the United States.

    A more fundamental solution is expected to make it easier for Korean semiconductor companies to conduct business in China. We are in close consultation with the United States, but I cannot confirm anything, "said an official from the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. Basically, what we are requesting is a solution to uncertainty, so that Korean companies‘ business in China will not be disrupted, and the US authorities are fully aware of what we want

    During President Yoon‘s state visit to the United States last month, South Korean Minister of Industry Li Cangyang and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raymond issued a joint statement to maintain the sustainability and technological upgrading of the semiconductor industry and minimize interference with the global semiconductor supply chain. Export controls imposed by the United States on China. It is reported that Samsung Electronics also contacted the United States Department of Commerce separately at that time to discuss relevant matters.