Lee International

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) reported a temporary decrease of approximately 6% in global semiconductor equipment sales in 2023 compared to the previous year.  However, the sales are projected to rebound to $105.3 billion in 2024 and increase further to $124 billion in 2025.  SEMI also anticipates that by 2025, Korea will be among the top three consuming countries for semiconductor equipment sales, alongside China and Taiwan.

While Korea holds a significant position in the semiconductor equipment market, recent findings suggest that the technology level of Korean semiconductor equipment and core components lags behind the global standard, reaching only 60% of the highest level worldwide. A study involving 85 semiconductor experts conducted in 2023 revealed that Korean companies' semiconductor equipment and core components scored an average of 2.97 points out of 5, indicating suboptimal performance compared to global benchmarks.  

Specifically, in terms of equipment, deposition equipment scored the highest with 3.74 points, followed by automation and control equipment at 3.51, and cleaning and CMP equipment scored at 3.41 points.  However, exposure equipment scored at 1.38 points, and ion implantation equipment also fell behind with a score of 2.44 points.  Regrading components, heaters scored relatively high with 3.16 points, as did RF matchers with 3.11 points.  However, vacuum robots and turbo pumps had low scores of 2.86 points and 2.81 points, respectively.  Scores within the 3-point range suggest that the technology can potentially replace the highest level of technology in the mid to long term, while scores of 2 point or less indicate that replacement is practically impossible.

Furthermore, despite the global trend of integrating AI into key semiconductor manufacturing processes, there is a noticeable gap between Korean semiconductor equipment companies and their global competitors in this area.  Analysis of Korean patent applications from 2021 to 2023 underscores this difference.  Among the top 10 overseas companies, there were a total of 269 applications for AI semiconductor equipment, while Korean companies filed only 11, representing a mere 4% of the total.  Notably, KLA was the top applicant with 83 applications, followed by ASML with 60 applications, Hitachi Hi-Tech with 38 applications, and Applied Materials with 25 applications.

In response to this, the Korean government announced its plan to increase the current semiconductor supply chain self-reliance rate from 30% to 50% by 2030, while also aiming to expand the market share of system semiconductors to 10%.  Furthermore, in line with efforts to attract R&D centers of global semiconductor equipment companies such as Lam Research, TEL, ASM, AMAT, and ASML in Korea, there are plans underway to establish an Advanced Semiconductor Technology Center in Yongin by 2027. This initiative aims to seamlessly bridge research and development with commercialization.

With such support from the Korean government, Korean semiconductor equipment companies will have substantial advancement, leading to heightened competition among industry players in the country.  Consequently, there will be a growing imperative to increase efforts in securing pertinent patent rights in Korea.