Choi Tae-won: "DRAM Improves, but NAND Remains Dormant... Concerns Over Overinvestment" (Comprehensive)

KCCI Year-End Press Conference
"Many Countries Feel the Need to Rethink Nuclear Power"
"Economic Recovery in Second Half of Next Year... Auto and Semiconductor Improving Gradually"
"SK Personnel Changes, Too Many Interpretations Seem Unreasonable"
Expo Bid Failure "Losers Are Speechless"

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group, said, "The semiconductor market is now moving past the 'Rock Bottom' stage," adding, "There are still issues with prices needing to recover further and supply-demand balance needing to be properly aligned." He warned that if the global supply and demand do not match, it could become very difficult due to excessive investment.

At a year-end press conference held on the 19th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chamber Lounge in Jung-gu, Seoul, Chairman Choi said, "Since semiconductors have become a strategic industry for each country, with each wanting to build everything on their own soil or run their own business, it is quite difficult for the overall market to flow in a way that supply-demand balance is well maintained as it was when the market was unified."

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is speaking at a press conference held on the 19th at the Chamber Lounge of the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, China. (Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

Regarding the semiconductor industry outlook, he said, "I hope it recovers as quickly as possible in the first half of next year, but we need to watch a bit longer," diagnosing that "some specific demands are currently driving the overall market rather than a full recovery."

Specifically, he added, "In memory, DRAM is improving, but NAND is still at a dormant level," and "In non-memory, there are still various challenges in logic semiconductors, so the situation is not very good."

SK Hynix has recorded a cumulative loss of 10 trillion won over four quarters since Q4 last year. However, with the recent expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) market, demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has increased, turning the DRAM segment profitable in Q3. NAND is expected to take more time to recover due to intense competition among suppliers.

"China is the biggest variable for next year's economy... Short-term recovery is difficult to expect"

Regarding the economic outlook for next year, Chairman Choi said, "No matter how much you try to forecast, it is often of little use," but added, "There will be no major changes in the first half, but I predict the economy will recover in the second half." He continued, "How quickly China's economy recovers is a major variable, but I do not see a short-term recovery. I think the recovery will only be visible around the end of next year," explaining, "What is somewhat improved is that the automobile and semiconductor markets are showing signs of slight recovery."

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is speaking at a press conference held on the 19th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce China Chamber Lounge in Seoul. (Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

Chairman Choi emphasized the need to establish a global standard for carbon-free energy (CFE), including nuclear power and hydrogen, as energy sources to achieve carbon neutrality. President Yoon Suk-yeol proposed the CFE initiative to the international community at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly last September.

Chairman Choi said, "There are various methodologies, such as using only renewable energy to save the planet or allowing any energy source as long as it does not emit carbon," adding, "Since we are moving toward Net Zero, there is no way to exclude nuclear energy, so it is necessary to concretely standardize carbon-free energy (CFE)."

He also stated, "At the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, new discussions emerged, and many countries felt the need to reconsider nuclear power."

"Need for international standardization of carbon-free energy (CFE)"

Chairman Choi said, "I hope carbon solutions that reflect our environment well are adopted or have significant influence," adding, "The key is to build as safe nuclear energy as possible, and if it is adopted as a taxonomy (green classification system) by other countries, it will also connect to business."

Regarding recent signs in several countries of moving backward from decarbonization in relation to climate change, he diagnosed, "It might be similar to looking at stock prices in the securities market. Although the trend is definitely going up or down, short-term opposite movements can occur."

He continued, "(The climate crisis) is inevitably a global issue," adding, "As time passes and the climate crisis becomes a reality impacting us, the louder the voices will be to accelerate carbon neutrality as the impact grows."

Regarding his New Year's plans, he said he will attend the 'Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024' held next month in Las Vegas, USA. He said, "There are two main agendas," adding, "We mainly continue with the theme of the environment, and the world is currently favoring artificial intelligence (AI)."

On the 18th, Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited Choi Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, and took a commemorative photo before the meeting. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Chairman Choi, whose term as chairman of the Chamber of Commerce ends next year, said he is still considering whether to seek reappointment. He said, "I do not intend to say 'I will be reappointed' by myself, and since there is still time left, I will consider others' opinions and reflect on myself," adding, "I have been busy with the World Expo and have had no time to think about domestic issues or other matters, so I will take some rest at the end of the year, organize my thoughts, and if I decide to continue, I will think about what work I should do and then decide."

Regarding SK Group's recent appointment of his 'cousin' Choi Chang-won as chairman of the SK SUPEX Council, he said, "Rather than deciding alone, it was a situation where each company nominated him," adding, "People wonder why it happened to someone related to me by blood, but it is difficult to interpret it just by blood relation. Considering his career, story, age, and position, he is fully capable."

He continued, "I do not think it is appropriate to put too much interpretation into it. You can judge whether he does well or not in the future," adding, "The front wave of the Yangtze River is always pushed by the back wave. It is just a matter of when it happens, and someday I will also become the front wave."

Regarding the failure to host the '2030 World Expo' in Busan, he said, "The loser has no words," adding, "We need to maintain relationships with countries we visited a lot, so we are discussing proceeding with projects with major companies," and said, "There is no reason to think the costs and efforts were wasted. From an entrepreneur's perspective, we will pioneer new markets to recover the invested money."

[Image source=Yonhap News]