[사설]Semiconductor Daejeon is on fire, not when Korea is safe

Competition among global semiconductor companies is unusual. The bold investment plan of Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest foundry (consignment production) company, makes people feel terrified. TSMC announced on the 14th that it will invest up to 28 billion dollars (about 31 trillion won) on facility investment this year. This is well over the $17.2 billion execution scale last year. There is an ambition to escape the pursuit of Korean companies such as Samsung.

Intel, who was the absolute powerhouse in non-memory, won the game by appointing engineer Pat Galsinger as the new CEO. It is being shaken by delays in micro-processing and the departure of partners such as Microsoft (MS), but it is trying to reverse by speeding up the development of advanced semiconductors. In addition, the desire for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is rising, such as the US Nvidia’s announcement to acquire ARM, a British semiconductor design company. In China, Tsinghua Uni has fallen into the default (debt default), but aggressive support from the government is expected to resume soon.

In the turbulence of the global market, Korean companies are struggling to survive, but it seems difficult. In the case of Samsung Electronics, it is predicted that it will invest 12 trillion won, twice that of last year, in non-memory businesses such as foundries this year, but it is less than half that of TSMC. If Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is sentenced to imprisonment on the 18th at a repatriation trial for the destruction of the government-run Nongdan case, it is inevitable to disrupt the drastic investment through the decision of the owner. The successive calls for vice chairman Lee to be elected by economic groups contain strategic judgments on the rapidly changing global market. In the semiconductor industry, competition is so fierce that it is difficult for Korean companies to grow further only with the memory they have strong points. There is a desperate need for aggressive investment in non-memory, which has a much wider business area, and it is urgent to prepare a comprehensive strategy for this purpose. It is time to find out what the government can do to help Korean companies survive in the semiconductor global war.

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