The government's strategy around next-generation power semiconductors has kicked into gear. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources recently officially launched the Next-Generation Power Semiconductor Task Force and appointed Koo Sang-mo (53), a professor in the Department of Electronic Materials Engineering at Kwangwoon University, as Director General. Power semiconductors are essential components that control and convert electricity across core national infrastructure, including electric vehicles, the national power grid, artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, defense and robotics. The government set a goal of raising technological self-reliance to 20% by 2030 from the current 10%. It is seen as a policy shift to treat power semiconductors as national strategic infrastructure, beyond simple research and development support.
Unlike memory and central processing units (CPU) that handle computation, power semiconductors deal with the flow of electricity itself. Recently, beyond conventional silicon (Si), compound power semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have emerged as key technologies. SiC is strong in high-voltage, high-power environments, making it suitable for EV drivetrains, ultra-high-voltage power grids, and high-power AI data centers. GaN, with its high-frequency and high-efficiency characteristics, is used in chargers, power supplies, and communications equipment. As AI spreads and energy demand surges, power semiconductors are drawing attention as a core strategic technology.
Meeting Director General Koo on the 13th at Kwangwoon University in Nowon-gu, Seoul, he likened power semiconductors to "the heart that circulates energy." If power semiconductors do not function properly, from EVs to the national power grid, energy highways, high-voltage direct current (HVDC), and AI data centers, the entire national infrastructure stops. He emphasized that "technological self-reliance" in power semiconductors is not simply a domestic production ratio, but building a structure that actually uses Korean power semiconductors in core infrastructure and operates them stably.
Director General Koo is an international researcher in compound power semiconductors and nanoscale devices, having led research on SiC- and GaN-based power devices. After earning a doctorate at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, he worked as a visiting researcher at MIT and at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States, and joined Kwangwoon University's Department of Electronic Materials Engineering as a professor in 2006.
The global competitive landscape of the power semiconductor industry is not favorable for Korea. Europe has accumulated power semiconductor technology for decades based on its auto industry and is leading SiC commercialization focused on EVs and industrial power systems. The United States is also managing highly reliable, high-performance power semiconductors as strategic assets around AI data centers and defense demand, maintaining a technological edge. By contrast, because Korea's industrial structure has focused on memory semiconductors, it is assessed to be a latecomer in power semiconductors. On top of that, China is rapidly catching up across SiC and GaN materials and devices with large-scale investment and volume offensives, raising concerns that the technology gap could widen further.
The task force's biggest feature is a "demand-centered" approach. Whereas existing semiconductor policy sought applications after developing technology, the task force aims to define required performance and specifications from the planning stage of demand industries such as EVs, power grids, AI data centers, and defense. The intention is to address, through policy, the reality that domestic demand players had no incentive to replace foreign components they already used reliably. Director General Koo summarized this as "demand first, development later," and said connecting public infrastructure and private demand simultaneously is the differentiator of the task force system.
The task force plans to flesh out a power semiconductor technology development roadmap by the first half of this year. It will organize required performance by demand industry and, based on that, set mid- to long-term research and development directions across materials, processes, design, and foundries. In the second half, it will proceed with planning large-scale research and development projects and institutionalization discussions. It is also reviewing ways to ensure Korean power semiconductors are actually applied in public domains such as power grids, data centers, and weapons systems through legal refinements and institutional improvements. It will also focus on workforce development. The following is a Q&A with Director General Koo.
— Why "power semiconductors" now? What is the background for the government forming a task force at this point?
"Power semiconductors are not just a single component for EVs. If power semiconductors do not work properly, from EVs to the national power grid, energy highways, HVDC, and AI data centers, the entire infrastructure stops. With power demand exploding due to the spread of AI, how efficiently electricity is controlled and supplied has become a national competitive edge. Power semiconductors are the semiconductors corresponding to the heart, blood vessels, and muscles that circulate energy. Relying on the outside for this has limits in terms of energy sovereignty and technological sovereignty."
— What should be the criteria for judging "technological self-reliance" and "sovereignty" in power semiconductors?
"It is risky to view power semiconductor self-reliance only as some percentage of domestic production. What matters is whether it is actually used. We can call it self-reliance only when Korean power semiconductors are applied not just in EVs but also in core infrastructure such as the national power grid, HVDC, and AI data centers, and can be operated stably over the long term. The criterion should be technology that operates within national infrastructure, not merely technology we can manufacture."
— Unlike memory semiconductors, there is a widespread view that power semiconductors require tighter integration with demand industries.
"Until now, semiconductor policy has developed technology first and then pondered 'where it will be used.' The task force has reversed that order. From the planning stages of demand industries such as EVs, power grids, AI data centers, and defense, we first define what performance and specifications are needed. From the perspective of domestic demand players, there was no reason to replace foreign components already used reliably, and we aim to resolve that structural problem through policy. 'Demand first, development later' is the biggest differentiator of the task force system."
— Which demand sources is the task force prioritizing?
"EVs are important, but structurally larger demand lies in power grids and AI data centers. AI data centers require enormous power, and to supply it stably, high-efficiency, highly reliable power semiconductors are essential. In addition, defense and robots, the so-called physical AI domain, will inevitably be important demand sources. Power semiconductors go beyond specific industries and connect with national infrastructure as a whole."
— Where do you see Korea's weakest link in SiC and GaN power semiconductors?
"Rather than pointing to one or two points, we need to view the entire supply chain. We have some capabilities across materials, processes, design, and foundries, but there is a gap with Europe and the United States, and China is catching up quickly. Among them, materials must be addressed. It's not that we have no technology at all, but dependence on overseas sources is very high. If we fail to internalize now, the industry itself could become a wasteland in the future."
— How do you plan to advance process and foundry capabilities?
"Process and foundry capabilities do exist domestically. The problem is that those capabilities are not being utilized much in practice. Technology advances when we produce a lot and domestic demand players absorb it, accumulating experience. That's why we emphasize public and private demand together. Research and development, mass production, and demand are not separate."
— Is the goal of a 20% technological self-reliance rate by 2030 realistic?
"Rather than the number 20% being the goal itself, it is the minimum threshold we must surpass. From the current level, we absolutely need to more than double it. Communicating with key players such as Samsung Electronics, SK Siltron, DB HiTek, LS, and Korea Electric Power Corporation, there is already a consensus on the necessity of power semiconductors. However, this is not a problem any particular corporation can solve alone. That is why the task force is needed."
— What differentiators are possible only under a task force framework?
"It is that we look not only at research and development but also at institutions and public demand together. We want to create a structure in which Korean power semiconductors are actually used in public infrastructure such as power grids, data centers, and weapons systems. The same goes for workforce development. We must build a self-sufficient ecosystem. Power semiconductors are not about market size. They are about infrastructure, security, and sovereignty. With power demand surging alongside the spread of AI, I see now as the decisive moment."