US May Increase Pressure for Additional Semiconductor Data... Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Submit Information Excluding Sensitive Content

U.S. President Joe Biden is holding up a silicon wafer at the Semiconductor Supply Chain CEO Meeting held at the White House last April.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Major South Korean semiconductor companies including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and DB HiTek submitted semiconductor supply chain data requested by the U.S. government on the 8th (local time). These companies reportedly provided the minimum necessary data excluding sensitive customer information. Since the U.S. may request additional information containing sensitive content, companies remain on edge.

According to the industry on the 9th, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and DB HiTek submitted related data to the U.S. Department of Commerce on that day. This was in response to the U.S. government's survey issued at the end of September to global semiconductor companies, requesting answers by this date on 26 items including semiconductor inventory, orders, sales, and customer information. According to the U.S. federal government website, 67 data submissions had been posted by the previous day, of which 40 company information entries had been officially reviewed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and posted on the site as of 6 p.m.

The information related to domestic companies submitted that day has not yet been posted. Some global automakers such as GM and BMW also submitted data as semiconductor demand companies, but Hyundai Motor and Kia reportedly decided not to submit responses after consulting with the Korean government.

Samsung Electronics excluded internally sensitive information such as customer data and inventory levels, and marked all submitted materials as confidential to prevent public disclosure. SK Hynix also included only minimal content and marked some data as confidential. Inventory was reportedly recorded by industry type, such as for computers, rather than by product.

Companies can separate data that can be publicly disclosed from that which cannot, and confidential data can only be accessed by the U.S. government. Taiwan's TSMC, the world's number one foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer), also submitted data confidentially on the 5th, excluding customer and other sensitive information. Other Taiwanese companies such as UMC, ASE, and GlobalWafers also submitted data. U.S. Micron and Israel's Tower Semiconductor also submitted data.

The issue is that the U.S. government may judge the submitted data as insufficient and apply additional pressure. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently stated, "Everyone has cooperated with strong and complete data submissions," but also mentioned, "If the data is not sufficiently satisfactory, additional measures may be necessary."

The business community believes that in such a case, the government should play a diplomatic role. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Seung-wook plans to visit the U.S. on the 9th, one day after the data submission deadline, to meet with Secretary Raimondo. This meeting aims to reassess the semiconductor supply chain with the U.S. government and explore cooperation measures. Additionally, discussions are expected regarding measures to prevent damage to Korean companies' steel exports to the U.S. in relation to the steel tariff agreement between the U.S. and the European Union (EU).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.