Restructuring of Core Semiconductor Supply Chain... Emphasizing Public-Private Cooperation by Korean and US Economic Sectors

Unified Voice at Korea-US Business Council General Assembly
Identifying Supply Chain Bottlenecks Through Public-Private Dialogue
Urging Incentives for Voluntary Corporate Participation
Huh Chang-soo Proposes Korea-US-Japan Consultative Body

Huh Chang-soo, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), is delivering a greeting at the '33rd Korea-US Business Council General Meeting' held at the FKI Conference Center on the 9th. (From left in the photo) Kwon Tae-shin, Vice Chairman of FKI; Huh Chang-soo, Chairman of FKI; Lee Kwang-jae, Chairman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Korean and American business communities, which cooperated in submitting semiconductor supply chain data requested by the U.S. government, have emphasized the need for public-private cooperation between the two countries regarding the restructuring of key supply chains. They agreed that cooperation in rebuilding the global supply chain should respect corporate autonomy and protect sensitive confidential information to the greatest extent possible.

On the 9th, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) held the 33rd Korea-U.S. Business Council General Assembly with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce under the theme "Post-Pandemic, Changes in the Global Economic Order and Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation" to discuss these matters. The general assembly was conducted by connecting Korean participants gathered at the FKI Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, with U.S. participants via video conference.

On the Korean side, key government officials including Lee Kwang-jae, Chairman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee; Lee Soo-hyuk, Ambassador of Korea to the U.S.; and Lee Kyung-soo, Director General of the Science and Technology Innovation Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT participated, along with major companies such as Lotte, Hyosung, Hanwha, SK, Boeing, 3M, and Amazon. On the U.S. side, Jose Fernandez, Deputy Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the State Department, and Arun Venkataraman, Chief Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce, participated.

Huh Chang-soo, Chairman of the Korea-U.S. Business Council and Chairman of the FKI, proposed in his opening remarks the establishment of a trilateral economic consultative body among Korea, the U.S., and Japan to promote economic advancement after the COVID-19 crisis. Chairman Huh stated, "Korea and the U.S. must join forces to restore the collapsed global economic order and rebuild a free trade environment," and suggested launching a platform for regular dialogue and cooperation among the business communities of Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

Participants from both Korea and the U.S. argued that discussions on rebuilding global supply chains in key strategic sectors such as semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries should be conducted while protecting sensitive corporate information and maximizing the autonomy of the private business sector. Prior to the general assembly, Choi Chang-sik, Vice Chairman of DB HiTek, told reporters, "We submitted semiconductor data to the U.S. government in a way that provides minimal information to protect our customers," emphasizing the need for a global supply chain reconstruction process that prioritizes corporate autonomy and confidentiality.

Accordingly, the FKI and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a joint statement urging public-private dialogue to identify actual bottlenecks in the supply chain, provision of business incentives to encourage voluntary corporate participation, and protection of corporate business confidential information.

In particular, participants from both countries agreed on the need to improve trade restrictions and corporate regulations that threaten the Korea-U.S. economic alliance, acknowledging the movement to amend Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act since the Biden administration took office. However, the U.S. side also expressed concerns about the negative impact that Korea’s Serious Accident Punishment Act, scheduled to be enforced next year, might have on the business and investment environment.

Additionally, both countries voiced a unified stance on cooperation in advanced technologies such as semiconductors and batteries, as well as alternative energy sources like nuclear power and natural gas to address climate change.

Director General Lee Kyung-soo explained in his keynote presentation that Korea plans to expand the budget for Korea-U.S. cooperation in research and development (R&D) of advanced strategic technologies such as semiconductors, batteries, quantum technology, space, and artificial intelligence (AI) by more than threefold.

Deputy Secretary Fernandez shared the U.S. policy direction toward Asia and cooperation plans for addressing climate change. Business representatives from both countries also discussed climate change response measures based on nuclear power, natural gas, and renewable energy, as well as issues related to digital norms between the two countries.

Kim Bong-man, Director of International Cooperation at the FKI, said, "In this meeting, we conveyed to both governments the necessity of improving trade and investment restrictions such as the amendment of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act," adding, "Next year’s Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting is planned to be held face-to-face in Seoul."

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