It is reported that South Korea and the United States approached the opinion that they would prepare separate equipment import standards for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix’s Chinese semiconductor factories, but raise the standards according to the development of Chinese technology. Currently, imports of equipment above a certain level are fundamentally prohibited, but the application of regulations to Chinese factories of Korean companies is postponed for one year until October of this year.
If the US and South Korean authorities come up with regulatory improvement measures in this direction, uncertainty will be alleviated, such as extending the postponement of semiconductor equipment import regulations for the Chinese factories of the two companies, which will end in October, and enabling qualitative upgrades at the factories. Expectations emerge.
On the 9th (local time) known. Advanced semiconductor equipment that exceeds a certain level of technology is regulated from being brought into China, but equipment that falls below this standard does not need to undergo a separate review by the Ministry of Commerce.
In particular, it is known that the South Korean and US authorities agreed on a plan to raise the standards for importing semiconductor equipment that will be applied to domestic companies in the future depending on the speed of development of Chinese semiconductor technology. An official from the semiconductor industry said, “I know that there is little disagreement about the need to change the standards for importing semiconductor equipment that will be applied to domestic companies depending on the situation in the Chinese semiconductor industry.”
However, it is known that the South Korean and U.S. authorities are currently discussing the separate standards to be applied to domestic companies. A source said, “Specific issues, including separate standards, have yet to be concluded.”
The government has been asking the United States to take fundamental measures to resolve the uncertainties of domestic companies, such as a multi-year grace period beyond the extension of a one-year grace period. An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on the 10th, “There will be little chance of a sudden equipment supply failure after October (when the regulatory grace period ends).” ”he explained.
Previously, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang also said at a press conference on the 9th, “The US semiconductor law guardrail (safety device) is a problem related to the management of our semiconductor companies in China.” He added, “We are conducting consultations in a direction that will be more helpful to us in the process of preparing the draft from the US side so that our companies will not be damaged by technological upgrades or within a limited scope.” There is,” he said. It is a positive outlook for the long-term extension of the postponement of semiconductor regulation, as well as for opening up the possibility of technological upgrades for domestic semiconductor companies.
Amid sluggish exports of semiconductors, if Korea and the U.S. agree to a long-term moratorium on the import of semiconductor equipment, a green light is expected for domestic semiconductor companies.
The domestic semiconductor industry said, “It is cautious to mention it because a specific decision has not yet been made,” but also evaluated, “It is positive that uncertainty can disappear when it is actually implemented.”
An official from the semiconductor industry said, “In the past, in the worst case, there was talk of a situation where factories had to be removed from China, but it is positive that discussions are being made in the direction of allowing factories to operate as much as possible.” Another official also said, “Since many of the equipment for the semiconductor process is imported from the United States, it seems possible to upgrade the technology of the Chinese factory.” said.
However, it is expected that the tug-of-war will continue over specific semiconductor equipment import regulations. In October of last year, the United States required China to obtain separate permission when selling equipment that produces logic chips of 16 nm or less (nanometer, 1 nm is one billionth of a meter), DRAM of 18 nm or less, and NAND flash with 128 layers or more to China. did. Separate standards for domestic companies are likely to apply higher limits.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.