Korean media: South Korea's high-tech industry is seriously dependent on China and Japan!
On November 12, the Korean media "Today Energy" published an article stating that data shows that core materials of South Korea's advanced strategic industries are seriously dependent on overseas.
Data submitted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently showed that the key materials for charging battery negative electrodes, natural graphite and artificial graphite, have a dependence on China of 97.6% and 98.8%, respectively.
The precursor and nickel hydroxide, which are the core materials for the positive electrode, are imported from China at 94.1% and 96.4%, respectively. In fact, it is impossible to produce charging batteries without China.
The robotics industry also faces a similar situation. The reliance on overseas suppliers for core drive components has increased, rising from 77.7% in 2021 to 80.3% in 2023. Of these, 97.8% of the drive components come from Japan, while the reliance on China for sensors and control components is increasing.
The display industry, which leads globally, is no exception. For next-generation displays such as Micro LED, the overseas dependence of five core materials, including RGB light-emitting elements, exceeds 90%. The key materials for OLEDs - dopants and fine metal masks (FMM) - also have 67% and 95% of their supply coming from overseas.
More seriously, the problem of rare metals concentrating in China. As of last year, among the 31 rare metals managed by the Korea Mining Development Corporation (KOMIPO), 20 were dependent on imports from China.
China accounts for 78% and 63% of the imports of key raw materials for semiconductors, niobium and silicon, and 65% of the imports of lithium, a key component of the positive electrode of charging batteries. China also provides overwhelming key materials for advanced industries, including 98% of gallium, 97% of graphite, 93% of indium, and 84% of magnesium.
In particular, the medical raw material bismuth is 100% dependent on China, raising concerns about unstable supply and demand.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy classifies the supply and demand situation of major minerals into five stages for management. Last year, it announced the first level 2 emergency supply and demand situation since the 2018 statistics.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848586624710672/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.