Ⓒ JoongAng Ilbo / JoongAng Ilbo Japanese version2022.07.03 13:23
Therefore, if China has the ability to lead the United States in the semiconductor field or disrupt the supply of cutting-edge semiconductors to the United States, it will occupy an advantage over the United States in all areas of war. It is pointed out in the 2021 final report of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence under the US Parliament. If China attacks with state-of-the-art weapons equipped with AI, it can overwhelm the United States.
With this recognition, we are waiting for the passage of a bill to foster the cutting-edge semiconductor industry, which includes $ 52 billion in support. Not only that, it has also urged major overseas companies such as Samsung and TSMC to invest in the United States.
TSMC in Taiwan is attracting attention as it produces the world’s most advanced ultra-fine chips. The so-called “silicon shield theory” that China will not easily stimulate Taiwan because of TSMC has been argued.
By the way, the April interview with TSMC founder Morris Chang is interesting. It is inefficient and stupid for the United States to drive large-scale US investment by Taiwanese semiconductor makers. The TSMC plant in Oregon, USA, said it cost 50% more than Taiwan, no matter how hard it tried for 25 years. However, I think that his words might have included the intention of making the United States more dependent on Taiwan-made advanced semiconductor imports than domestic production to further strengthen the United States’ will to defend Taiwan. In other words, security games around semiconductors are spreading not only between the United States and China but also between the United States and Taiwan, which are friends.
Morris Chang said that in the long run, it would be “impossible” when asked if Taiwan could continue to do semiconductor business with both the United States and China. It means that we will have no choice but to choose the United States after all, like sanctions on Huawei. This also raises considerable implications for South Korea, which faces the immediate challenge of joining the “Chip 4 Alliance.” Professor Kwon Seok-chun, an expert in this field, will suffer a tremendous blow to the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. due to the decrease in exports to China and the resulting increase in production costs. Insist that you should join the “Chip 4 Alliance”. Only by actively participating in the US-led semiconductor supply chain through the “Chip 4 Alliance” can we join the supply chain in the field of quantum ICT technology, which is the next-generation semiconductor technology, and inherit standards and technological assets.
The Warring States period of semiconductors is advancing. How to create an efficient public-private-academia collaborative system for the formulation and execution of wise semiconductor strategies that have taken the country’s future, and how to abolish regulations such as Tetsujinjo, which is far behind the times. There are a lot of urgent issues as to whether to train thousands or tens of thousands of semiconductor human resources.
Yoon Young Kwang / Professor Emeritus, Seoul National University, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[Column]Semiconductor Warring States Period and “Chip 4 Alliance” … Korea’s Challenges (1)