Another Warning on South Korea's 'Chip 4' Participation... China Says "Big Blow to Korea-China Trade"

China: "Korea-China Semiconductor Industry Indivisible"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is examining a semiconductor photomask received from Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT during a Cabinet meeting held on the 7th of last month at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul.

As South Korea is considering whether to join the semiconductor supply chain alliance 'Chip4 (Korea-US-Japan-Taiwan)' proposed by the United States, China continues to exert pressure using state-run media.

The Global Times, affiliated with the Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily, cited a report on the 23rd stating that President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered "active diplomacy" to dispel China's concerns regarding supply chain issues, and said, "Observers say that if South Korea blindly participates in the US's technological containment against China, its largest trading partner, the export-driven Korean economy will suffer a significant blow."

Han Xiaomin, General Manager of Jiwei Consulting, told the Global Times, "If South Korea blindly follows the US, it will deal a heavy blow to semiconductor trade with China, which amounts to 40 to 50 billion dollars annually."

Additionally, industry analyst Ma Zhihua argued that semiconductor cooperation between Korea and China has been closely intertwined over the past 20 years, making separation nearly impossible. He pointed out that Korean semiconductor companies have numerous production and R&D bases in China, and some Korean firms produce a substantial amount of semiconductors in China.

The Global Times stated, "SK Hynix plans to establish a wafer production base in Dalian, while 45% of its DRAM semiconductors are produced in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province," and "more than 40% of Samsung's NAND flash memory semiconductors are produced at its Xi'an factory in China."

Along with this, the newspaper claimed, "In the past, when Japan's semiconductor industry rapidly advanced in design and production, threatening the US semiconductor sector, the US imposed high tariffs on Japanese products as a form of containment," and argued, "Even if South Korea joins Chip4, it will not be able to acquire advanced technology from the US."

The state-run media Global Times (the English edition of Huanqiu Shibao) and Huanqiu Shibao have been publishing articles and editorials opposing South Korea's participation in Chip4 since the 18th. Chinese government authorities have also expressed opposition to South Korea's participation in Chip4 during briefings by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce spokespersons.