The U.S. government has begun in earnest to pressure Korean semiconductor corporations to resolve a shortage of memory chips, an essential element for the development of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
On the 9th (local time), Howard Lutnick, U.S. commerce minister, attended an event by U.S. semiconductor corporation Micron Technology in Syracuse, New York, and said, "We are discussing ways to expand investment in the United States with Korean memory chip manufacturers," adding, "Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra may not want it, but I would like to bring competitors Samsung Electronics(005930) and SK hynix(000660) to the United States to build chip plants." The remarks are seen as meaning that to ease the global shortage of semiconductor components and build a stable domestic supply chain, global leading corporations must sharply ramp up production directly on U.S. soil.
Currently, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix plan mammoth greenfield plant investments totaling $880 billion over the coming years to secure leadership in AI infrastructure. In particular, SK hynix is expected to raise up to $27 billion immediately on the 10th through a listing of depository receipts in the United States. Market investors believe the funds raised in the stock market are highly likely to be funneled directly into expanding next-generation chip production capacity.
Minister Lutnick revealed a plan to attract a substantial portion of this massive investment to the U.S. mainland to build a home-centered semiconductor ecosystem. At the event, he said, "Micron is blazing the trail, so other competing corporations will be envious and eventually follow," adding, "We want to firmly protect great American corporations and those who invest massively in intellectual property." On the day, U.S. chipmaker Micron abruptly announced a supersized long-term plan to invest $250 billion in expanding U.S. production facilities by 2035. After confirming strong support from the domestic government, Micron's stock price surged as much as 9.1% intraday on the New York market, drawing an explosive response.
Instead, the U.S. government is drawing a firm line against attempts by its big tech corporations to introduce Chinese-made memory chips into their products. Currently, Chinese memory makers Changxin Memory and Yangtze Memory are on the U.S. Ministry of National Defense blacklist, so U.S. corporations need government approval to incorporate their products into global supply chains. Apple CEO Tim Cook is trying to persuade the Donald Trump administration to allow the use of Chinese memory chips to offset the burden of continued component price increases, but the U.S. government and the U.S. domestic industry, including Micron, are putting the brakes on any move to grant approval.
Experts said that if Chinese corporations enter the U.S. market with the backing of U.S. big tech like Apple, large-scale U.S. onshore chip investment plans could run aground due to a severe deterioration in profitability. For this reason, the prevailing analysis is that the Donald Trump administration will further ratchet up overt investment pressure on Korean corporations with proven technological prowess to simultaneously achieve its two core goals of ironclad protection of domestic industry and checking China.