South Korea Widens Memory Chip Lead Over China

South Korea is expected to widen its lead in memory chip production relative to China through aggressive domestic facility expansions by Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. A report from the Bank of Korea indicates that new plants coming online by 2028 will increase South Korean output capacity by approximately 600,000 wafers per month.

China is attempting to close this gap through significant capital raises and capacity growth. CXMT Corp. recently raised nearly $10 billion in an IPO, while Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. is targeting a $4.6 billion share sale. Although CXMT is also projected to increase capacity by 600,000 wafers per month, the Bank of Korea notes that actual output often falls short of nominal capacity due to yield and technological constraints.

U.S. export controls and trade blacklists continue to restrict Chinese access to cutting-edge equipment. These restrictions are expected to hinder China's efforts to build a self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem and preserve the technological advantage held by South Korean firms in advanced memory production.