Impact of U.S. HBM export controls on Korean semiconductors

[Anchor]

As the United States and China clash strongly, we cannot help but worry about the impact it will have on us.

Reporter Gye Hyun-woo has examined the potential repercussions for our semiconductor industry.

[Report]

In the global market, high-bandwidth memory, HBM, is supplied by South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, as well as the United States' Micron.

SK Hynix supplies most of its latest high-performance HBM to American clients such as NVIDIA, thus remaining outside the impact zone.

Samsung Electronics is currently testing its new '5th generation HBM' with NVIDIA, and is exporting some low-spec HBM to China.

There are reports from foreign media predicting that this could account for about 20% of Samsung Electronics' total HBM sales.

However, the industry views the impact of this measure as limited.

This is because Samsung Electronics has a low proportion of sales in China and possesses a global supply chain.

While Samsung Electronics stated that it cannot disclose specific export volumes to China, it expressed its intention to closely review the measures and consult with relevant authorities.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy acknowledged that there may be some impact, but stated that if export methods are adjusted in a way permitted by the U.S., the effects could be minimized.

Still, concerns remain.

[Kim Yang-pyung/Researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade: "Currently, while China's demand for HBM is minimal, its overall semiconductor demand is significant. HBM demand is expected to increase significantly, and there are concerns that this control could long-term depress the global market..."]

In particular, if the list of sanctioned items expands amid the growing U.S.-China conflict, the impact may not be limited, and the government is also closely monitoring the situation.

This is KBS News, Gye Hyun-woo.