Served as Chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association Until Early Last Month
Requested National-Level Support, Citing Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Research
"Countries Worldwide Are Betting Everything on Advanced Strategic Industries Like Semiconductors"
"The Nation and Companies Must Join Forces Like Two Wheels of a Bicycle"
Kwak No Jung, CEO of SK Hynix, met with Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, on the 28th at the company’s headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, and requested national-level support for the semiconductor industry. As the company’s CEO, he aimed to convey his thoughts on competing in the recent semiconductor market, as well as the demands he encountered in the industry while serving as the chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association until early last month.
He particularly emphasized the need to stake everything on the semiconductor industry, citing an analysis by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry which projected that active national support for the semiconductor industry would lead to increases in both GDP and economic growth rate.
Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Kwak No Jung, CEO of SK Hynix, are walking and talking on the afternoon of the 28th at SK Hynix Icheon Campus in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, for the 'K-Semiconductor' AI memory semiconductor company meeting. 2025.4.28 Photo by Kim Hyun Min
Welcoming the candidate’s visit, Kwak stated, “The Hynix semiconductor cluster in Yongin, which began based on your strong interest and support during your tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province, is being steadily constructed according to plan for its first production in 2027. We are deeply grateful for this.”
He went on to point out, “Our economy is at a crossroads, facing the shock of negative 0.2% growth in the first quarter this year, and the impact of U.S. tariffs is expected to be fully reflected starting in the second half of the year.” He noted that, even amid these circumstances, SK Hynix achieved an “earnings surprise,” which “provides a clear indication of where our economy should focus.” In other words, he suggested that the country should concentrate on fostering the semiconductor industry to find a breakthrough for the economy.
Kwak also stated that the success or failure of the semiconductor industry has become a matter of national survival and has established itself as the fundamental infrastructure for all industries. He further emphasized that global economic security paradigms are directly linked to the semiconductor industry.
He added, “With the recent rapid growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the importance of advanced memory solutions such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for semiconductors is being highlighted. SK Hynix is playing a key role in building the next-generation industrial ecosystem for AI by closely cooperating with major global companies, including Nvidia and TSMC.”
He also mentioned the announcement by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which stated that if the government provides annual support of 0.25% of real GDP (5.5 trillion won) to the semiconductor industry, the annual growth rate would increase by 0.17 percentage points (3.7 trillion won) each year. Kwak said, “If GDP rises further, national tax revenues will also increase, allowing the government to recover all support funds within five years,” and added, “In the long term, the fiscal burden will not be significant.”
He further stated, “Countries around the world are staking their futures on securing competitiveness in advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors and AI, because they expect national growth effects.” He stressed, “There is a strong sense of urgency that the nation and companies must work together, like the two wheels of a bicycle, to make Korea a leading semiconductor powerhouse.”
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