Korea-U.S. Industrial Cooperation Dialogue subcommittee conference will be inaugurated with an emphasis on cooperation on the supply chain sector

The conference is to be held virtually due to the spread of the Omicron variant with relevant officials from both the private and the government sector present

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy from Korea and the U.S. Department of Commerce will hold a subcommittee meeting on semiconductor issues after experiencing global semiconductor shortage since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. According to sources in Washington D.C., the two organizations will hold an inaugural virtual subcommittee meeting aimed to forge closer ties of cooperation in the semiconductor sector on December 8^th at 6:00 PM local time (December 9^th at 8:00 AM Korean Time).

The conference will be held in a teleconference format amid the recent spread of the Omicron variant. Relevant officials from respective ministries, government officers and relevant individuals from the private sector will also participate in the conference. The scheduled conference will be held in accordance with an agreement between Korea’s Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, which was reached during Minister Moon’s visit to the U.S. on November. The U.S. will deal the issue of its reliance on China and Taiwan for semiconductors and semiconductor shortage as matters directly liked to national security.

Considering the gravity put by the U.S. government on the semiconductor supply chain issue, the conference is earning attention to whether it will be a ground of discussions for the two governments and multiple semiconductor companies to set a direction of cooperation in the field of the semiconductor supply chain. Minister Moon proposed a) tasks required to strengthening supply chain and R&D between companies of the two countries, b) nurturing talented professionals and c) investment in raw materials and subsidiary materials by companies as themes to be discussed. A source based in Washington D.C. mentioned, “The inauguration of the conference itself carries significance as this conference establishes a communication channel of dialogue responding to semiconductor issues” and added, “Both sides will be able to have opportunities to raise questions to each other on semiconductor-related issues of their concern ahead of risks surfacing as imminent problems.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Commerce received supply chain information submitted by global semiconductor companies, including TSMC, and Korean semiconductor companies, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. As the submission date of this information and the date of the scheduled subcommittee conference is roughly one month apart, there are prospects of the discussions related to the submitted information might take place. It is reportedly known that the U.S. Department of Commerce did not require additional information to Korean semiconductor makers.