South Korean chip exports to Taiwan surge amid supply chain changes

South Korea’s semiconductor exports to Taiwan and Vietnam saw significant growth last year, reflecting changes in global supply chain dynamics, according to a report by Korea’s JoongAng Daily on Sunday.

The growth highlights South Korea’s growing focus on diversifying its chip business amid changing global markets.

Data from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed the country’s semiconductor exports are set to reach an unprecedented US$141.9 billion (NTD 4.67 trillion) in 2024, up from US$129.2 billion set in 2022, Taiwan News reported. The dollar is higher than its previous record.

In the January to November period of 2024, China’s share in South Korea’s chip exports fell to 51.7 percent, compared with 61.1 percent in 2020. In contrast, Taiwan’s share increased significantly, from 6.4 percent to 14.5 percent in 2020. Last year.

This increase in exports to Taiwan is linked to trade in advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. SK Hynix supplies HBM chips to TSMC, which then integrates them into graphics processing units (GPUs) destined for Nvidia, industry sources said.

These GPUs are used to build AI accelerators, demonstrating the interconnected nature of the semiconductor industry and Taiwan’s role as an important hub in global chip manufacturing, Taiwan News reports.

Similarly, South Korean semiconductor exports to Vietnam are expected to grow from 11.6 percent in 2020 to 12.9 percent in 2024. This growth was driven by companies like Samsung shifting a significant portion of their smartphone production from China to Vietnam, further altering the supply chain landscape. Area.

Kim Yang-peng, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Industrial Economics and Trade, commented that Washington’s “America First” policy is likely to reshape the global semiconductor supply chain. “This approach will motivate US allies to join China in its ongoing trade war,” Kim said, Taiwan News reported.

This policy could promote closer cooperation between partner countries while further challenging China’s dominance in the global semiconductor market.