Lee Jae-yong Meets Intel CEO... Supporting ROK-US Alliance Through 'Collaboration' Talks (Comprehensive)

Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong Boosts Korea-US Semiconductor Alliance
Samsung and Intel Back Support Following Yoon Suk-yeol and Biden's 'Alliance' Agreement

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, who is visiting Korea on the 30th, to concretize the semiconductor alliance agreement between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden.

According to Samsung Electronics on the 30th, Vice Chairman Lee held a relay meeting with Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO, who is visiting Korea, exchanging opinions on cooperation plans in various fields such as next-generation memory, fabless system semiconductors, foundry, PC, and mobile. Present at the meeting were Kyung Kye-hyun, head of Samsung Electronics’ DS Division, No Tae-moon, head of the MX Business Division, Lee Jung-bae, head of the Memory Business Division, Choi Si-young, head of the Foundry Business Division, and Park Yong-in, head of the System LSI Business Division.

Full-scale Discussion on Samsung-Intel Cooperation Following Korea-U.S. Leaders’ Semiconductor Alliance Agreement

The meeting between Vice Chairman Lee and CEO Gelsinger took place just ten days after U.S. President Joe Biden visited Korea on the 20th and, together with President Yoon Suk-yeol, toured Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek semiconductor plant to discuss the Korea-U.S. semiconductor alliance. The two leaders strongly expressed their commitment to the Korea-U.S. semiconductor alliance and hoped that the Korea-U.S. relationship would be reborn as an economic security alliance based on advanced technology and supply chain cooperation.

Samsung Electronics and Intel demonstrated their willingness to contribute to concretizing the Korea-U.S. semiconductor alliance, and through this meeting between Vice Chairman Lee and CEO Gelsinger, the ongoing cooperation between the two companies is expected to expand further.

An industry insider said, "The meeting between Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee, who leads the global semiconductor market, and Intel CEO Gelsinger will expand and accelerate the scope of cooperation between the two companies," adding, "This will contribute to resolving supply chain instability and the development of the next-generation semiconductor industry." Another semiconductor industry official also said, "The semiconductor industry is a complex business relationship where competitors are also partners," and added, "Decision-making ability and global networks of owners like Vice Chairman Lee are therefore even more important."

Competitors and Collaborators... What Will They Cooperate On?

Samsung Electronics and Intel are competitors vying for first and second place in global semiconductor sales. Samsung Electronics reclaimed the top spot last year with semiconductor sales of 94.16 trillion KRW, surpassing Intel’s $79 billion in sales. While Intel officially declared its entry into the foundry market last year, Samsung Electronics is aiming to become the world’s number one in the system semiconductor sector centered on foundry by 2030, following its leadership in memory.

Although they compete in the semiconductor sector, Samsung Electronics and Intel collaborate in the set product field. Samsung Electronics’ latest technology is concentrated in the ‘Galaxy Book Pro’ series, which is equipped with Intel’s latest 12th generation Core processors and Intel Iris Xe graphics, providing powerful performance.

As a result, the possibility of collaboration between Samsung Electronics and Intel has been continuously raised. Industry insiders predict that Intel will produce its main product, CPUs, in-house, while entrusting the production of other chipsets and products to Samsung Electronics and TSMC. An industry official said, "To resolve the global semiconductor supply imbalance, cooperation with Samsung Electronics and TSMC, which possess advanced fine processes below 10 nanometers, seems unavoidable for Intel."

JY’s Moves to Strengthen Semiconductor Competitiveness Despite Management Participation Restrictions

Vice Chairman Lee’s recent moves also signify support for President Yoon, who has emphasized securing a semiconductor super-gap amid countries worldwide racing to foster the semiconductor industry. Since his parole release in August last year, Vice Chairman Lee, who had been keeping a low profile, has shown active efforts to strengthen semiconductor competitiveness with the new government in place.

During the visit of President Yoon and U.S. President Biden to Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek semiconductor plant on the 20th, despite his parole status, Vice Chairman Lee personally guided the tour inside the factory and, despite restrictions on management participation, made a bold decision to invest 450 trillion KRW over five years until 2026 in semiconductors, bio, and next-generation communications.

On the 25th, when asked by an Asia Economy reporter in front of the lawn plaza at the Yongsan Presidential Office building about the meaning of the 450 trillion KRW investment and President Joe Biden’s inspection of Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek campus, Vice Chairman Lee laughed heartily and said, "We are investing with our lives on the line." The phrase ‘investment with lives on the line’ refers to the recent series of situations surrounding semiconductors, indirectly indicating that as competition intensifies, it is difficult to survive without generous and decisive investment.

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