Experts warn that South Korea’s semiconductor technology has been overtaken mainly by China in just two years.
According to a report titled “In-Depth Analysis of Technology Levels in Three Game-Changer Fields,” released by the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) on Monday, South Korea now lags behind China in four out of five semiconductor technology sectors with only “advanced semiconductor packaging” remaining competitive.
The five semiconductor technology sectors are high-density and resistance-based memory, advanced semiconductor packaging, high-performance low-power AI semiconductors, power semiconductors, and next-generation high-performance sensing. The Korean Ministry of Science and ICT and KISTEP conducted a “Technology Level Assessment” comparing 136 scientific and technological fields through expert surveys.
In the 2022 technology level assessment survey, South Korea only lagged behind China in high-performance, low-power AI semiconductors (4th place) and power semiconductors (5th place).
However, in last year’s survey involving South Korea, China, Japan, the European Union, the United States, and Taiwan, South Korea only outranked China in advanced semiconductor packaging, placing 4th. In all other sectors, South Korea fell behind China.
This assessment, which evaluates relative levels compared to leading technology countries, revealed that South Korea’s power semiconductor sector scored a mere 67.5% in foundational capabilities and commercialization, ranking last among the six nations.
The United States dominated all areas except for commercializing advanced semiconductor packaging, where Taiwan, home to TSMC, took the lead.
In the semiconductor technology lifecycle survey, which covered foundation and source, design, process, and mass production, South Korea ranked third in process (86.9%) and mass production (87.0%), following the U.S. and Taiwan.
However, South Korea’s foundation and source (78.8%) and design (79.4%) lagged behind China’s, placing it at the bottom of the six countries.
KISTEP noted, “The current semiconductor market faces uncertainties due to Japan’s renewed aspirations, China’s rapid rise, robust U.S. sanctions aimed at containing China, and the rapid growth of Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia.” They added, “South Korea’s government R&D investment is relatively small, and private companies invest less in R&D than their sales. The transition to the system semiconductor sector is also somewhat slow.”
KISTEP identified “core talent” as the top priority for improving domestic semiconductor technology, emphasizing the need to foster talent through education and prevent the outflow of existing key personnel.