Yoon, Biden vow to strengthen Korea-US tech alliance

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers his speech as U.S. President Joe Biden listens during their visit to Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap

'Two nations work together to make the best, most advanced technology in the world and this factory is proof of that,' says Biden

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden presented a shared view that economic security is national security and that semiconductors are one of the critical technologies that will determine the future of the two nations' economies.

Speaking at Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus which he visited immediately after his arrival in South Korea, Biden made it clear why he chose South Korea as his first stop in his first Asia tour as president of the United States.

The U.S. president underscored that South Korea is a reliable, trusted partner sharing values with his country, noting that the global supply chains have been destabilized posing a grave threat to economic and national security.

"Now Putin's brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine has further spotlighted the need to secure our critical supply chain so that our economy and our economic and our national security are not dependent on countries that don't share our values," Biden said. "The critical component of how we'll do that in my view is by working with close partners who do share our values like the Republic of Korea to secure more of what we need from our allies and partners and bolster our supply chain resilience."

Biden stressed that the U.S. will not be dependent economically on countries that do not share its values, and that is why he is seeking to bolster supply chain resilience with Korea.

"Our two nations work together to make the best most advanced technology in the world and this factory is proof of that," Biden said. "That gives both the Republic of Korea and the U.S. a competitive edge in the global economy, if we can keep our supply chains resilient, reliable and secure."

President Yoon said he shares Biden's view that semiconductors are a core asset to national security and a key to the future of the Korean economy, vowing that he would do his utmost to give incentives and generous support to help the industry move forward.

"President Biden's visit to Pyeongtaek Campus not only manifests the significance of semiconductors in economic and national security but also gives an opportunity to recall the meaning of the Korea-U.S. global comprehensive alliance through semiconductors," Yoon said.

After touching down at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, at 5:23 p.m., Biden was welcomed by Foreign Minister Park Jin and headed straight to the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus, which is about 10 minutes away by helicopter from the U.S. Forces Korea facility.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan are accompanying Biden, showing that the Yoon-Biden summit slated for Saturday will be focused on the security of the Korean Peninsula and bilateral industrial ties in semiconductor and other technologies.

U.S. President Joe Biden disembarks Air Force One after landing at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

The U.S. president and his delegation received a warm welcome from President Yoon and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Lee gave a guided tour of the plant for the two presidents.

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"I ask President Biden to provide various incentives for Korean semiconductor companies' investment toward the U.S. and pay greater attention to U.S. equipment and designing companies' investments in Korea," Yoon said during his speech at the plant. "And I hope today's visit will result in upgrading Korea-U.S. relations to become an economic security alliance which is based on advanced technologies and supply chain partnerships."

The Pyeongtaek semiconductor plant is one of the largest of its kind in the world, accounting for approximately 15 percent of global production of memory chips. It set a model for another Samsung plant being built in Taylor, Texas.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands upon the latter's visit to Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap

U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong during his visit to Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap

For Korea, the visit will also be a pivotal moment for its bid to strengthen its ties with U.S. fabless chipmakers and domestic foundry companies.

Korea is consolidating its status as the global No. 1 supplier of memory semiconductors, such as DRAM and NAND flash, but its foundry business has been lagging behind rivals.

Foundries, also called fabs, refer to the business of manufacturing semiconductors for fabless companies such as Qualcomm, Nvidia and Apple, which design chips but do not manufacture them.

Samsung's Pyeongtaek plant has two fab lines in operation and plans to begin commercial operation of its third line in the latter half of this year, as part of a strategy to improve its presence in the foundry business as well.

"In terms of the foundry business, Samsung's capability may not match that of Taiwan's TSMC," a key official at Seoul's presidential office said. "If the U.S. prowess in designing chips and Korea's manufacturing capability are combined, this will create a very strong synergy."

In the fourth quarter of last year, Taiwan's TSMC commanded a market share of 52 percent in the global semiconductor foundry market, while Samsung occupied 18.3 percent of the market. Among fabless firms, U.S. Qualcomm and Nvidia hold 18 percent and 13 percent market shares respectively.

From left, U.S. President Joe Biden, President Yoon Suk-yeol and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong listen to an engineer at Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap

Seoul's presidential office said the two leaders' visit to the Samsung plant "shows the countries' intention to strengthen their alliance for economic security through semiconductors" and "displays their commitment to solve the global supply chain disruptions."

For this shared goal, the U.S. has already floated the idea of its alliance with three semiconductor powerhouses ― Korea, Japan and Taiwan ― and proposed to each government the idea of forming the so-called "Chip 4" or "Fab 4."

The U.S.-led effort to strengthen its tech alliances is seen by some as a move to contain China, given that the four countries control nearly 80 percent of the global chip market. The alliance, however, could be a thorny issue for domestic chipmakers, such as Samsung Electronics or SK hynix, which have been striving to stay neutral amid the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.

On concerns over potential setbacks in Korea's trade with China after the summit, President Yoon told reporters that "We don't need to see it as a zero-sum game" and "There will be no problems in relations with China if Korea can keep economic ties solid."

U.S. Air Force One with U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

After wrapping up Friday's schedule, Biden will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Seoul National Cemetery, Saturday, and engage in a summit with Yoon at Korea's new presidential office in Yongsan District. Then they will attend a press conference at the presidential office and meet again for a state dinner at the National Museum of Korea.

On Sunday, Biden will deliver remarks with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and other domestic businessmen and meet service members of Osan Air Base before departing for Tokyo.