Chey Tae-won Warns Triple Threat Without Semiconductor Supply Expansi…

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won warns that South Korea's memory semiconductor industry faces a triple threat—market contraction, new competitors, and geopolitical backlash—unless capacity expands rapidly to lower inflated chip prices. He argues that supply expansion, even at lower margins, is essential to prevent the 1980s-style trade backlash Japan faced and to maintain market dominance against emerging competitors and government pressure. Memory chip prices are now a geopolitical flashpoint, not just a market signal—if Korean makers don't flood supply within 18 months, governments will force domestic production elsewhere. Your customer base will fragment across US, EU, and allied fabs, erasing the leverage you have today.