[‘Patent Judgment Emergency’ K-Semiconductor]⑥ "Foreign Companies File Patent Lawsuits to Raise Prices of Korean Materials, Parts, and Equipment... Negative Impact on Samsung and SK"

Raising Product Unit Prices Through Litigation
Impacting Our Companies' Competitiveness
Foreign Checks on Korea's Technological Advancement
Possibility of Unstable Parts Supply Chains
Need for Government Support Including Legal Representatives
Preventive Measures Through Consulting and Patent Guidance

Industry insiders and experts expressed the greatest concern that if overseas companies continue their ‘patent offensives’ targeting South Korea’s semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) companies, it will lead to a ‘decline in competitiveness due to rising SoBuJang prices.’ Analysis suggests that patent lawsuits by foreign companies are not merely legal disputes but are intended to weaken the price competitiveness of our SoBuJang sector. If these companies win the lawsuits, the price competitiveness of domestic SoBuJang companies will decline, causing serious damage to the overall ‘Korea semiconductor’ industry. In particular, large corporations such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which rely on SoBuJang supplies, may face significant difficulties due to instability in the parts supply chain and increased costs.

Baek Jong-woong, CEO and patent attorney at Intro Patent Law Office, stated in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 18th, "The reason overseas companies file disputes against us is to raise the unit prices of domestic companies’ products." He analyzed that foreign companies are employing a sophisticated strategy to gain an advantage in the global market by controlling the prices of products produced by our companies.

When our SoBuJang industry first entered the market in the past, it often referenced or imitated overseas companies’ equipment due to a lack of technical foundation. At that time, under the belief that ‘imitation is the mother of creation,’ the strategy was to follow existing market trends rather than develop entirely new equipment. In the late 1980s, domestic companies competed with foreign companies on quality, leveraging relatively low labor costs and reasonable material prices. Customers chose our SoBuJang products because they were cheaper while maintaining similar quality, laying the foundation for growth in the domestic related industry.

This situation began to change as the technological capabilities of domestic SoBuJang companies rapidly advanced. They started producing products that were superior or comparable to those of overseas companies. This triggered active countermeasures from foreign companies. Finding it difficult to lower their product prices, they shifted their strategy to provoke price increases in relatively smaller domestic SoBuJang companies through patent disputes.

Some voices point out that large corporations such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix could also be adversely affected, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. If foreign companies win patent lawsuits, it will become difficult for large corporations to reduce semiconductor costs through SoBuJang.

According to the industry, most of our large corporations currently use a balanced mix of overseas and domestic SoBuJang tailored to the characteristics of each production process. This is especially because domestic products are evaluated as having good quality and reasonable prices. However, if cases of foreign companies winning patent lawsuits increase, the situation will change. Foreign companies will solidify their patent rights and maintain high prices, while domestic companies that lose will have to raise product prices due to patent royalties and other costs. For large corporations aiming to supply semiconductor finished products at competitive prices by procuring materials, parts, and equipment cheaply, their options will narrow. Semiconductors released without reducing SoBuJang costs will struggle to maintain price competitiveness in the global market, and the market share of large corporations may gradually decline.

Due to these concerns, the semiconductor industry and legal circles advise that the government should actively support domestic SoBuJang companies to win patent disputes. When lawsuits arise, related agencies and government ministries must provide swift and active support, including assistance in appointing legal representatives. However, the most important point is ‘prevention.’ Companies themselves must meticulously ‘manage’ to prevent patent disputes from occurring in the first place. Um Jeong, a patent attorney at BLT Patent Law Office, emphasized, "The top priority is to prepare to avoid patent infringement." He added, "From the initial product development stage, companies should receive ‘patent strategy consulting’ and immediately start research and development (R&D). Focusing only on short-term development can worsen problems, so long-term preparation must be conducted simultaneously." He also stated, "It is necessary to first identify patents of foreign equipment already registered and achieve strategic localization." A SoBuJang company official said, "Generally, companies create patent maps to analyze and understand the patent status," adding, "Many small and medium SoBuJang companies cannot do this due to cost and analytical capability issues, so support in this area is also necessary."

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