US Sanctions on Russia Include Korean-Founded Island Semiconductor Company

Published 25 Feb.2024 17:33(KST)

US Announces Large-Scale Sanctions Marking 2 Years of Ukraine War

As the United States announced large-scale sanctions against Russia coinciding with the two-year mark of the Ukraine war, an Ireland-based semiconductor parts and equipment company founded by a Korean has also become a target of U.S. sanctions.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to major Irish media on the 24th (local time), 'Qubit Semiconductor,' headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, was included in the sanctions list announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC stated that the company was active in the Russian economic sector supporting Russia's military-industrial base by sending electronic components dozens of times to the Russian semiconductor company 'JSC Mikron.' JSC Mikron was added to the sanctions list in March 2022.

Qubit's management includes two Koreans. According to Qubit's website, one of the Koreans is the company founder and is introduced as having over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor field. The company has offices in Ireland and Korea, and the Irish corporation is registered at a residential address on the outskirts of Dublin. The company claims to only do business with customers related to the European Union (EU) semiconductor industry. They categorically denied trade relations with JSC Mikron, stating that the parts are semiconductor components, not for military use.

On the previous day, the U.S. Treasury and State Departments announced sanctions on more than 500 targets to make Russia pay for its oppression of its citizens, human rights violations, and invasion of Ukraine. This is the largest scale of sanctions since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions target Russia's main sources of income, such as the energy industry and the military-industrial complex, to strike at Russia's war capabilities.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) also added 93 companies to the Entity List as part of the large-scale sanctions against Russia. Companies on the Entity List are described as having supported Russia by obtaining U.S.-origin machine tools, electronic test equipment, machine tool parts, etc., for Russian users without BIS authorization. Among Korean companies, 'Daesung International Trade,' located in Sangdong-myeon, Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam, was named.