Korean Media: China's Another Rise, the "Golden Age" of South Korea's Semiconductor Industry Is Nearly Over!

On June 20, Korean media outlet JoongAng Economic Daily published an article stating that ChangXin Memory Technologies, China's largest DRAM manufacturer, achieved strong sales performance in the first quarter, recording revenue of 50.8 billion RMB and a net profit of 33 billion RMB. China's semiconductor industry has made remarkable progress, hailed as the "rise of semiconductors." Despite strict export controls imposed by the United States on advanced semiconductor equipment, driven by the "China speed," China has surpassed the general-purpose DRAM market and successfully entered the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, breaking South Korea’s long-standing dominance in this field.

The rise of China’s semiconductor industry stems from enterprises’ determination to lead global manufacturing—mirroring the development trajectories of other industries such as electric vehicles, batteries, smartphones, shipbuilding, steel, petrochemicals, and humanoid robotics. Founded in 2016, ChangXin Memory Technologies aims to catch up with Samsung and has already captured approximately 5% of the global DRAM market within just ten years, becoming the world’s fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer after Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron. The company is accelerating expansion of its wafer fabrication plants in Beijing, Shanghai, and other locations. Once completed, monthly wafer input capacity is expected to increase to 200,000 wafers, and by 2029, its global market share could reach 15%. Notably, the company plans to produce around 60,000 wafers per month for HBM3 this year.

Considering the projected net profit for this year, if ChangXin increases investment in equipment and R&D, the pace at which it narrows the technological gap with South Korea will inevitably accelerate. Moreover, China’s domestic production rate for semiconductor equipment has reached 35% and is growing at an astonishing pace.

The decline of Japan and Germany’s DRAM industries serves as a historical reminder that once a country falls behind in semiconductor technology, it is extremely difficult to catch up. With Samsung Electronics' union threatening a full-scale strike, it is not impossible that South Korea may be pushed to the margins of the semiconductor industry.

Unless South Korea’s labor, management, and government unite to confront this crisis and place all bets on securing a significant technological edge, the collapse of the semiconductor industry—the backbone of South Korea’s economy—is merely a matter of time. With China’s DRAM industry rapidly closing in, the warning is clear: South Korea’s “golden age” in semiconductors is nearly over.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868517149068300/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.