According to a report by The Korea Times today, the United States, during a meeting with South Korean government officials, expressed its desire to obtain a portion of the “excess profits” earned by South Korean semiconductor companies during the AI chip boom.
An industry insider familiar with the situation said that the reason the United States made this request was that American companies’ large-scale purchases of South Korean chip products have contributed to the performance growth of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and therefore the United States believes that it should also receive a certain share of the profits.
The report states that Rick Switzer, Deputy Trade Representative of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), expressed this view to South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo during a meeting last month. Sources indicate that Switzer believes that if South Korean companies providing support services to South Korean chip manufacturers can share in the profits, then relevant U.S. companies should also be entitled to similar benefits.
A senior South Korean government official confirmed to The Korea Times that the U.S. had made similar claims, but did not provide further details. The media outlet subsequently contacted the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Treasury Department multiple times for confirmation, but had not received a response by the time of publication. An official from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources stated that they were unaware of the situation and could not comment.
A South Korean trade official stated that South Korean companies have announced relevant investment plans based on the arrangements made at the business roundtable held during last year’s tariff-related negotiations, and have continued to make large-scale investments over the years. The official said that the South Korean government’s basic position is that industry-related matters should be promoted based on commercial rationality and relevant principles, and currently, it does not have information regarding the so-called profit-sharing issue in the semiconductor sector.
This news comes as South Korea’s semiconductor exports continue to grow, driven by demand for AI infrastructure. According to data released by the South Korean government, South Korea’s semiconductor exports reached $192.43 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion yuan at the current exchange rate) in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 162.5%, compared to $73.31 billion in the same period last year. Exports to the United States reached $26.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 91.3%.
In June this year, South Korea’s semiconductor exports increased by 199.2% year-on-year to US$44.82 billion (approximately RMB303.895 billion at the current exchange rate), setting a new monthly record. Among them, exports to the United States reached US$6.49 billion (approximately RMB44.004 billion at the current exchange rate), an increase of 377.2% year-on-year, compared with US$1.36 billion in the same period last year.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as major global memory chip suppliers, have seen their businesses continue to expand due to growing market demand for AI servers and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Both companies have increased their investments in advanced semiconductors in recent years.
Currently, the US government’s public push for cooperation with South Korean chip companies focuses primarily on expanding domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, rather than profit sharing. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has previously publicly called on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to build memory chip factories in the US, in line with the US policy of promoting the localization of the semiconductor supply chain.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have previously announced their investment plans in the United States. Samsung is advancing semiconductor-related investments in Texas, while SK Hynix has announced plans to build advanced packaging facilities in the US. However, neither company has yet announced plans to build an advanced DRAM or NAND flash memory wafer manufacturing plant in the US.
