THE US-CHINA SEMICONDUCTOR WAR: HOW IT IMPACTS SOUTH KOREA’S TECH INDUSTRY

Abstract

The U.S.-China semiconductor war is a turning point in the high-tech history of the world. The war, in its essence, a struggle for supremacy of cutting-edge chip technology, is waged with export controls, sanctions, and investment bans rather than gunpowder. Caught in the middle of it all that the war is over is hope to rule next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and 5G. The world leader in semiconductor production, South Korea, finds itself between a rock and a hard place. Having an economic proximity to China and belonging to the American-led camp, South Korea has to tread the tightrope of a rapidly bifurcating world. It examines how the competition between the U.S. and China for semiconductors is reshaping global value chains and its strategic implications for South Korea's technology industry. Two research questions worded for investigation provide the agenda: how are global semiconductor supply chains being reconstituted under geopolitical tension, and whether South Korea can stay economically neutral even if it loses competitiveness. The study, based on the most recent scholarly research, policy analysis, and business reports, concludes that South Korea was finding it increasingly difficult to keep pace with its technological edge and economic prowess amidst intensifying rivalries on the global stage. The microchip war is not merely a microchip war—it is redrawing economic equilibria, strategic options, and national vitality within the age of digital technology.