South Korean semiconductors and smartphones using US technology may hinder exports to Russia

The inclusion of South Korea in the US export restrictions on Russia has increased the risk of damage to South Korean exporters. If you want to export products made using US-owned semiconductors, computers, communications, information security, lasers, sensoring and other technologies and software to Russia, you must obtain permission from the US Department of Commerce.

The impact is inevitable for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which are the leading semiconductor companies in South Korea. Most of the semiconductors, which are the core parts of all electronic devices, contain US software and technology. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which operate TV and home appliance factories in Russia, will suffer from the sale of finished products not only in Russia but throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region if the supply of semiconductor parts made in Korea is interrupted. I can't accept it, and I'm nervous. Samsung Electronics operates a TV factory in the Kaluga area near Moscow, Russia, and LG Electronics operates a TV and washing machine factory in the Luza area outside Moscow. A person in the consumer electronics industry said, "If parts coming into Russia are delayed, production will inevitably be hindered. Smartphones equipped with chips (APs, application processors) using US semiconductor design technology. Exports could also be hit. In the case of Samsung Electronics, Russia's smartphone market share was number one at 30% as of last year. In the case of semiconductors, direct exports are not large and the impact is not so great. Last year, South Korea's semiconductor exports to Russia amounted to 74 million dollars (about 8.5 billion yen), which was 0.06% of the total export volume. US export restrictions are imposed on Korean industry. It will take more time to understand the impact on smartphones, as the US Department of Commerce applies export restrictions to a total of 57 items, but a detailed list has not yet been released. The list will be on the 3rd of this month. It is highly likely that it will appear in the official gazette published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is a situation where you have to contact the Strategic Supplies Management Agency under the umbrella one by one. A person in the Korean IT industry said, "It is a situation where we can prepare only after knowing what parts and technologies are subject to sanctions." "We are concentrating on understanding sanctioned items through lines within Korea and with senior US officials," he said. A person in the shipbuilding industry also said, "It is a situation where we have to check each one whether US technology is used for foreign-made equipment and materials to be mounted on ships." If we can grasp it a little more clearly, we will respond accordingly. "Reporters Kim Gang-han, Chang Hyun-tae, Lee Ki-woo