Korean media: South Korea's high-tech industry is highly dependent on China for key materials!
On October 30, Korean media News 1 published an article stating that some key materials in South Korea's core high-tech industries, such as rechargeable batteries and displays, are 100% dependent on China.
Data from the "Import Dependency of Advanced Strategic Industries in the Past Five Years" released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea shows that in 2022, the import volume of natural graphite and artificial graphite, key materials for rechargeable battery anodes, had China's share at 97.6% and 98.8%, respectively.
Anode materials are one of the four key materials that determine the life and charging speed of electric vehicle batteries. China dominates the global supply chain of graphite, a key anode material, which has placed South Korean battery companies in a difficult situation.
In addition to graphite, other key rechargeable battery materials such as manganese sulfate (China, 92%), lithium hydroxide (China, 82.7%), and cobalt sulfate (China, 74.6%) also have a high import proportion from China.
The display industry faces a similar situation, with the dependency on phosphoric acid, a necessary raw material for display manufacturing, reaching 100%.
Phosphoric acid is a material used to make microcircuits on display panels and clean surfaces. The supply chain of the raw material for phosphoric acid, phosphate ore, is mainly dominated by China.
The dependency on China for ITO and IGZO targets used in display manufacturing is also very high, reaching 70%. This is because the raw material indium for these two materials is mainly produced in China.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (materials, components, equipment) supporting major advanced industries such as displays and rechargeable batteries are actually greatly affected by China.
In fact, among 1575 products (materials, components, equipment) imported by South Korea with an import value exceeding $10 million last year, 472 products had an import dependency of more than 50%. Among the products with a dependency of over 90% on specific countries, which are difficult to replace, 97 products came from China.
A South Korean industry insider emphasized: "The more South Korean companies rely on a specific country in advanced strategic industries such as batteries and displays, the weaker their competitiveness will be. We need to find a comprehensive solution to improve the self-sufficiency of advanced strategic industries."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847372108518410/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.