Global Semiconductor Market Share: Korea Ranks 2nd with 22%, Fabless at Only 1%

South Korea has a high IDM market share of 33% but a weak fabless share of 1%

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] In the global semiconductor market, South Korea ranked second with a comprehensive market share of 22%, but its share in the fabless sector was found to be only around 1%.

According to market research firm IC Insights on the 6th, last year the global semiconductor market was led by the United States with the largest share of 54%. This was followed by South Korea (22%), Taiwan (9%), Europe (6%), and Japan (6%).

South Korea particularly stands out in the Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM) sector. In IDM market share, South Korea ranked second with 33%, following the United States at 47%, with only a 14 percentage point difference between the two countries. This is largely due to the strong memory semiconductor competitiveness and large sales scale of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

On the other hand, South Korea’s market share in the fabless (semiconductor design) sector was only 1%.

Compared to the first-place United States (68%), second-place Taiwan (21%), and third-place China (9%), this clearly reveals South Korea’s much weaker fabless competitiveness. An IC Insights official explained, "Overall, the United States maintains a good balance between IDM and fabless sectors, but South Korea and Japan have a significantly weaker presence in the fabless sector."

The reality of South Korea’s semiconductor industry being concentrated only in memory semiconductors is considered a challenge to be addressed going forward. Previously, semiconductor market research firm TrendForce announced that the total sales of the top 1 to 10 global companies in the semiconductor design sector reached $127.4 billion last year, growing by 48%, but there was not a single South Korean company among the top 10.

Among the top five companies, four are American, showing that American and Taiwanese companies dominate the market. This year, as global demand increases for high-spec products such as high-performance computing, ultra-high-speed transmission, servers, automobiles, and industrial applications, chip design specialists are experiencing revenue growth and new business opportunities, but the domestic industry appears not to be benefiting from this trend.