The United States asked the South Korean authorities for assistance. US officials urge Korean colleagues to influence memory makers. If China bans American Micron Technology, then South Korean companies like Samsung should not fill the shortage of memory modules for Chinese companies.
Image source: Micron
According to the Financial Times, the news comes ahead of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to the United States today to meet with President Joe Biden. This is the first visit by a South Korean leader to the United States since 2011.
Washington reportedly urged Seoul to lobby Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix not to increase shipments of chips to China if American Micron is banned from working in the country. Beijing is now investigating the company’s activities.
In March, China’s cyber regulator announced it would conduct a security review of Micron products sold in China. The chipmaker said last month that it had been working with Chinese authorities and that activities in the country were proceeding as usual.
Though Washington did not comment on the Financial Times report, Washington reported that the Joe Biden and Yoon Seok-yeol administrations made efforts to coordinate investments in the semiconductor sector, protect critical technologies and address economic duress, Reuters reported.
It is known that the United States has imposed a number of restrictions on the export of chip manufacturing technology to China on the pretext that these technologies can be used for military purposes. The US has already blacklisted many of China’s largest semiconductor companies, including Micron’s competitor Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd (YMTC).
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