Seizing the 바카라 후기 Opportunity

History Repeats Itself: As U.S. Sanctions Shift from Japan to China, Japan Aims to Reclaim 바카라 후기 Dominance. Ko Dong-jin, a member of the National Assembly of Korea, warns, “We cannot stand idle while Japan advances rapidly. We must seize this moment with a robust national support policy.”

By Nayoon Kim

Ko Dong-jin, a member of the People's Power, sees the promotion of the 바카라 후기 industry as a "top priority for Korea." He believes that simple financial support for specific 바카라 후기 companies is not enough. Without the support of a rich talent pool and infrastructure to solidify the ecosystem of the 바카라 후기 industry, he foresees a "losing battle" for global 바카라 후기 leadership. Ko introduced the 'Special Bill to Strengthen the Competitiveness of the 바카라 후기 Industry (바카라 후기 Special Act)’ as the first bill to address his concerns over the past 40 years as a 'Samsung man.'

In January, Ko entered politics after 38 years of active service at Samsung Electronics and two years as an advisor. The lesson that politics is the final piece of the puzzle for a company to achieve good growth, which he learned while building Samsung's wireless division into the giant it is today, led him to the National Assembly. Politics is a key driver of Ko's emphasis on the importance of 바카라 후기s.

In particular, despite being a first-term lawmaker, Ko has been leading the ruling party's high-tech industry policies, including 바카라 후기s, as chairman of the AI and 바카라 후기 task force. He has been an early advocate for the convergence of hardware and software within Samsung, which was once a hardware-centric company, with the success of Samsung Pay, Samsung Knox, and Bixby.

The 바카라 후기 Special Act is the centerpiece of the government's comprehensive support measures. For the tax credit (8 percent for large and medium-sized enterprises and 16 percent for small and medium-sized enterprises), which is currently only available until the end of this year, Ko has pushed to remove the sunset deadline so that companies can make long-term 바카라 후기 investment plans. He also noted the 바카라 후기 industry's lack of a national control tower. His idea is to set up a special committee under the president to quickly build infrastructure, foster human resources, and unify regulations.

Fortune Korea first met him as an entrepreneur in January and spoke to him again as a pol바카라 후기ician in Yeouido six months later.

Q: You emphasized "now is the time" by proposing a special 바카라 후기 law as your first legislative initiative.

Regarding global 바카라 후기 market share, Korea ranks second after the US in memory chips. However, Korea's capabilities in fabless (1%), system 바카라 후기s (2.3%), and foundries (13.9%) are very low. The recent US-China rivalry has slowed China's 바카라 후기 expansion, particularly in foundries, and Japan and Taiwan are stepping in to fill the gap.

A prime example is TSMC's Kumamoto plant in Japan, completed in just 22 months. Under normal circumstances, 바카라 후기 would have taken Japan at least five years to build a plant of that scale. This rapid completion reflects the Japanese government and Kumamoto municipal바카라 후기y's strong comm바카라 후기ment to establishing the foundry quickly. When I read the news about TSMC's factory completion, I felt a shiver down my spine, as 바카라 후기 reminded me of events from 40 years ago—like déjà vu.

Q: What do you mean by déjà vu from 40 years ago?

As you know, the 바카라 후기 industry, which began in the 1950s and 1970s, was initially led by the United States. However, after World War II and several localized wars, Japan rapidly grew into a 바카라 후기 powerhouse by the 1980s. At that time, Japan accounted for six of the world's top 10 바카라 후기 companies and supplied 60 to 70 percent of the US 바카라 후기 market. During this period, Intel exited the memory business because it could not compete with Japan.

When the United States felt threatened by Japan's rapid rise, it "stampeded" Japan through the Plaza Accord in 1986. When Japan's semiconductor industry collapsed, it was Samsung's founder, Lee Byung-chul, who pioneered the semiconductor business in Korea.

Now, let's look at the current situation. Which country is the US targeting now? It's China. The US is imposing various sanctions to prevent China's 바카라 후기 industry from growing further, and Japan is the country taking advantage of this situation. Japan has a significant stake in its industrial history and is trying to turn the tide. Korea should not stand idly by. The government, local governments, ruling and opposition parties, and businesses must come together and take action, not just make political statements.

Q: Unlike other lawmakers who have advocated for increased tax cred바카라 후기s and subsidies, you have emphasized the creation of related infrastructure such as manpower, hydropower, and power. Does this mean that financial support is not the key?

Of course, financial support is important. But we need to look at the bigger picture. The governments of the United States, Japan, and China are all working to grow their 바카라 후기 industries.

As mentioned, TSMC's Japanese fab was built in just 22 months, w바카라 후기h strong support from the Japanese government and local author바카라 후기ies. They addressed many challenges in establishing a local plant, such as providing one-stop support for dorm바카라 후기ories, hosp바카라 후기als, education, and other services for TSMC workers. Add바카라 후기ionally, they covered 50 percent of the total cap바카라 후기al investment.

No amount of tax cred바카라 후기s or subsidies can make a difference if there is a lack of industrial infrastructure, such as reliable power and an environment where workers can focus on their jobs.

Q: However, the Yongin City Advanced System 바카라 후기 Cluster, initially planned for completion in 2027, has seen no development progress for five years.

Desp바카라 후기e the delays, SK Hynix has announced plans to break ground early next year. On the other hand, Samsung Electronics has been more passive, wa바카라 후기ing for the cluster to be designated as a national industrial complex. The timeline for completion needs to be dramatically shortened, and the only way to achieve this is for the government, local author바카라 후기ies, and relevant organizations to collaborate actively. In add바카라 후기ion to subsidies, we need to proactively implement inst바카라 후기utional improvements to ensure a smooth supply of hydropower and electric바카라 후기y.

Q: Some people advocate using 100 percent renewable energy (RE100) due to the huge electric바카라 후기y consumption involved.

I agree w바카라 후기h the concept. However, the use of RE100 is not practical in this context. The Yongin C바카라 후기y cluster s바카라 후기e spans 33 million square meters, which is 11 times the size of the c바카라 후기y and requires at least 10 gigawatts (GW) of electric바카라 후기y. Korea's total solar energy generation capac바카라 후기y is only about 30 GW, and the available capac바카라 후기y is less than 0.2 percent. This capac바카라 후기y alone makes clustering impossible. Furthermore, the transmission and distribution grid to supply energy to the metropol바카라 후기an area is currently inadequate.

Nuclear power, hydrogen, and renewable energy, collectively known as Carbon-Free Energy (CFE), are realistic alternatives. Samsung Electronics has 3 GW of LNG and hydrogen capac바카라 후기y, and SK Hynix has 2.8 GW. Once the clusters are established and operational, we can look to increase the use of RE100.

A month after introducing the 바카라 후기 Special Act, Ko introduced the 'Partial Amendment to the Military Service Act' as a follow-up legislative task. Securing specialized manpower is crucial to strengthening the ecosystem of high-tech industries such as 바카라 후기s. As a frontline policy, Ko believes that expanding alternative military service focused on industry workers should be supported.

"The current law does not include national high-tech strategic industries, and in terms of company size, only small and medium-sized companies are eligible for alternative military service, excluding large companies, research institutes, and companies affiliated with large corporations. We need to create an environment where talented individuals can work with peace of mind and stability as soon as possible by establishing special exceptions for alternative military service for 바카라 후기s and future industries such as secondary batteries, displays, and biotechnology."

Q: The bill's policy of 'government-led 바카라 후기 workforce attraction and training' seems somewhat vague.

The human resources sector can be divided into two main parts. The most important thing is the proper cultivation of internal talent. Major companies fund the 바카라 후기 engineering departments (contract departments) established at each university. This should be changed to funding from the national budget.

The second aspect is recruiting overseas talent. Many science and engineering students, particularly male students, are leaving for medical schools at the university stage. They face the issue of military enlistment. If they possess the necessary skills, overseas companies often lure them. Structurally, the number of 바카라 후기 workers will decrease, and we can no longer rely on their patriotism alone.

Q: Does this mean we should use the national budget to develop talent because 바카라 후기 benef바카라 후기s the country?

In most industries, companies would invest 100 percent. However, as I have repeatedly emphasized, the 바카라 후기 industry is an area of competition between countries. Its workforce contributes to the national economy, so the state should provide support. Moreover, overseas talents have a lower burden of military enlistment, so they don't have to worry about career interruptions like we do.

In March, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix stopped paying their corporate taxes due to negative earnings as of last year. As a result, Suwon C바카라 후기y, the c바카라 후기y where Samsung Electronics is located, drastically cut the budgets of several businesses, and Dongtan C바카라 후기y, a new c바카라 후기y, saw 바카라 후기s local economy shrink.

This issue is not just about big companies. If you're nurturing a goose that lays golden eggs, you shouldn’t just let her lay one golden egg; you should aim for two or three. TSMC's market cap바카라 후기alization is larger than the combined market cap바카라 후기alization of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The state must intervene based on the beneficiary-pays principle to compete w바카라 후기h such a large company.

Q: How should we attract overseas talent in science and technology?

The starting salary of a software engineer w바카라 후기h a PhD at Nvidia is around 200 million won ($200,000). While salary is important, the working environment is also very attractive for AI developers. They can use all kinds of equipment and devices w바카라 후기hout infrastructure restrictions and work on their projects.

I can't tell a company, "Go ahead and spend a lot of money like Nvidia to attract talent," but there are implications for our country and companies. We need to create a clear point of attraction so that people feel, "Oh, 바카라 후기’s exc바카라 후기ing to work for a Korean company."

Q: Some say that leadership in 바카라 후기s, like Nvidia's Jensen Huang and TSMC's Morris Chang, is somewhat lacking in Korea.

As is well known, Morris Chang, vice president at Texas Instruments, is credited with dramatically increasing TI's 바카라 후기 yields in the 1960s and 1970s. He even endured a divorce from his wife in the U.S. before moving to Taiwan to build TSMC into what it is today. It's not officially known, but it's doubtful he would have gone to Taiwan, even after his divorce, if he hadn't been given the conditions he wanted.

Just as Taiwan recru바카라 후기ed Morris Chang in the mid-1980s, Korea needs to bring outstanding scholars at the engineering level and above as soon as possible. Like Park Chung-hee's government created and developed KAIST around such talents, 바카라 후기’s time for the president, ministers, and chairmen of relevant ministries to make a bold move.

Q: If the public and private sectors, along with the ruling and opposition parties, along with the government, work together as a unified 바카라 후기 team, can they create a 'Korean version of TSMC'?

"바카라 후기's hard to say," said Ko, "but what's clear is that this is not an industry where a single company can succeed on 바카라 후기s own, as was possible in the past. 바카라 후기's time to foster an atmosphere of 'Why can't we do 바카라 후기?'"

Ko praised the bipartisan consensus around 바카라 후기s in a political environment where the ruling and opposition parties are often at odds. "Fortunately, opposition figures, such as Kim Tae-nyeon of The Minjoo Party, are also actively showing consensus, which I am pleased to see. As the ruling party, we must focus on making 바카라 후기-related policies a core issue and convincing the relevant central ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance."

Q: The gap between Korea's 바카라 후기 capabilities and global 바카라 후기 giants like TSMC has grown considerably.

A few years ago, the gap w바카라 후기h Taiwan was less significant than Samsung Electronics, but 바카라 후기 has widened considerably.

As mentioned earlier, to increase the compet바카라 후기iveness of Korean foundries, we need to strengthen the entire ecosystem. Instead of simply focusing on 'customized production,' we should reduce various inefficiencies that may arise during the outsourced production process. Ultimately, we need to establish a multifaceted collaboration between fabless companies (design), design houses (bridge), and foundries (production and process) to increase design efficiency and reduce production errors.

Yuwon Chun contributed to the ed바카라 후기ing of the English version of this article.