Korea states intention to participate in 'Chip 4'

A semiconductor wafer manufactured by Samsung Electronics [NEWS1]

The Korean government recently informed the United States of its intention to participate in the preliminary meeting of “Chip 4,” a semiconductor supply chain consultative body led by the United States which includes Korea, Japan and Taiwan, the presidential office announced on Sunday.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently informed the United States that Korea will participate in the Chip 4 preliminary meeting,” said an official from the presidential office Sunday.

The preliminary meeting is expected to be held in late August or early September. In relation to Chip 4, the government had announced its policy to reflect Korea’s position by participating as a “rule-maker” in the initial stages.

“Whether the government will participate in Chip 4 in earnest depends on the results of the preliminary meeting,” said another official from the presidential office. “The government will respond to the preliminary meeting in a way that reflects national interests as much as possible.”

At the preliminary meeting, the detailed agenda of Chip 4 and the level of participation of each country will be discussed in detail, and the name of the council itself is expected to be decided.

The Korean government has so far used the term “semiconductor supply chain consultative body” rather than “alliance” in describing Chip 4.

Korea is also expected to present the opinion that cooperation in the semiconductor supply chain should be promoted in a direction that does not exclude specific countries. Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin is scheduled to hold a bilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China, on Tuesday, and this topic is expected to become a major issue between the two countries.

Taiwan’s participation in Chip 4 is also a sensitive issue. China has shown strong resistance to Taiwan’s recognition as a country on the international stage, and is expected to be strongly against Taiwan’s participation in Chip 4.

Following the recent visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, military tensions between both the United States and China, and Taiwan and China have been on the rise.

“The proposal by the United States is that the four parties work together to stabilize the supply chain in high-tech semiconductors,” said an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The main areas of cooperation are manpower training, cooperation on research and development, and supply chain diversification, but nothing has been concretely decided yet.”

“The government’s position has not yet been decided, and coordination with the United States is in progress,” said the official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

BY HYUN IL-HOON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]