Samsung, SK hynix To Share Chip Trade Info With U.S. Gov't

By The Financial District
Nov 5, 2021
2 min read

South Korea's top two chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. -- are expected to submit information on their chip businesses to the US government by the Nov. 8 deadline, industry sources said Wednesday, Woo Jae-yoon reported for Yonhap news agency.

Photo Insert: Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman & CEO of Samsung's device solutions division

In late September, the U.S. Department of Commerce asked major chip companies and automakers to "voluntarily" share business information to address the global chip crisis, following President Joe Biden's executive order to secure and strengthen America's supply chains for key products.

Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman & CEO of Samsung's device solutions division, said the company was "calmly" preparing answers to the request during a meeting with reporters at the Korea Electronics Show (KES) last week.

"We are internally reviewing the matter and are in close talks with the (South Korean) government," said SK hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee, who also attended the event.

The information request by Washington has immediately spawned concerns about the possible leak of what chipmakers consider as major trade secrets, as questions touch upon a wide range of issues, including investment, inventories, pricing, customers, and sales.

All the news: Business man in suit and tie smiling and reading a newspaper near the financial district.

It also raised questions on how to answer those sensitive questions while complying with filings and information disclosure rules required for publicly traded companies.

While the US government said the information sharing is "voluntary," South Korean companies are under pressure to file the information as requested.

Business: Business men in suite and tie in a work meeting in the office located in the financial district.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned if companies did not respond to the request, "then we have other tools in our toolbox that require them to give us data. I hope we don't get there. But if we have to, we will," according to Reuters.

"There seems no other choice but to comply with the request," a Samsung official said on the condition of anonymity.

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