Although export licenses are denied to Chinese companies in principle, multinational companies in China, including Korean ones there, can receive approvals on a case-by-case basis, it said.
“The SK Wuxi plant and Samsung’s Xi’an plant operating in China are classified as subject to case-by-case review, unlike Chinese companies, so there will be no significant disruption to equipment supply,” the ministry said.
In order to minimize the impact of this measure on the Korean industry, the ministry plans to actively participate in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s briefing session and a 60-day opinion-gathering procedure to further express the views of the industry.
The Korea-U.S. export control working group will be held as soon as possible to intensively discuss the difficulties faced by companies, according to ministry officials.
However, the move is expected to complicate the operations of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in China, as they must undergo a case-by-case review by Washington to sell advanced chips to China.
SK Hynix, which operates a DRAM plant in Wuxi, a post-processing plant in Chongqing, and a NAND plant in Dalian that it acquired from Intel, said it will try its best to secure export permits from the U.S.
“We will work closely with the government to do everything we can to prepare the necessary procedures and documents to secure individual permits from the U.S.,” SK hynix said. “We will work hard to minimize the impact on the domestic semiconductor industry by working with the government to ensure that our Chinese factories can operate without problems.”
Previously, Samsung Electronics’ DS division head, Kyung Kye-hyun, who also leads the company’s U.S.-led semiconductor supply chain consultative body known as Chip 4, said in September, “It is necessary to distinguish between what the government is doing and what companies are do9dding. We are working hard to find a solution.”
“It is fortunate that there is no intention to attack Korean companies, but the government and companies should cooperate well to prevent trade secrets from being leaked during the U.S. licensing process,” an industry official said.
