Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea: The speed at which China is catching up in semiconductors is astonishing.

South Korean Vice Premier: "China's rapid advancement in semiconductors is chilling!"

On December 15, the South Korean media "JoongAng Ilbo" published an article stating that South Korean Vice Premier and Minister of Planning and Finance, Goo Won-jik, said: "As a minister of the economy, when I heard that China is also making efforts to catch up in the semiconductor industry, which is dominated by South Korea, I felt extremely uneasy."

Goo made the above remarks at a recent press conference. He said: "During the ongoing South Korea-US tariff negotiations, I especially felt the huge uncertainty in the global economy, and all countries are focusing on their own interests."

Goo expressed his concerns, saying: "I believe China's rate of advancement is very fast, and China is making every effort to surpass South Korea's semiconductor industry."

He emphasized: "Due to the weaponization of resources, tariffs, and export controls, the global value chain is collapsing, which is a very serious issue. We must manage South Korea's economy with a broader perspective and focus our capabilities and policy efforts on becoming a core component of the global value chain."

He also emphasized that large-scale investments in the US should be based on the perspective of the value chain. He said: "While investing 150 billion US dollars in the shipbuilding industry in the US, we should work with the US to build a shipbuilding industry that China cannot even approach. On the global value chain, it should be a positive concept that South Korea's shipbuilding is the best."

Regarding the 200 billion US dollar investment in the US, he added: "The US is interested in areas such as semiconductors, energy, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. We must actively cooperate with the US, propose projects, and actively secure the value chain of future emerging growth engines."

He also pointed out that relevant departments will actively develop follow-up measures, including the "Global Shipbuilding Value Chain Construction Strategy."

Original: toutiao.com/article/1851561040590848/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."