After storage, South Korea targets power semiconductors.

Recently, the South Korean government officially launched the "Super Innovation Economy Project", planning to invest 500 billion Korean won (approximately 22.3 billion RMB) of national funds in a special research and development project for next-generation power semiconductor technology. Including private sector matching funds, the total scale of the R&D project is expected to expand to 750 billion Korean won (approximately 4.94 billion USD). According to a report from the Seoul Economic Daily, South Korea is positioning power semiconductors as a core strategic industry comparable to memory chips. At an emergency economic steering committee meeting held on June 14 local time, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Gu Yoon-zuk, finalized the details of the project. The South Korean government plans to finalize the commercialization technology roadmap for the next generation power semiconductors within this month and requires industry chain companies to participate in the full-cycle development process from materials, devices, modules to system demonstrations. At the meeting, the next-generation power semiconductors, along with small modular reactors (SMR) and sensor artificial intelligence, are seen as important projects to ensure future growth engines. Gu Yoon-zuk stated, "We will seriously promote structural reforms and super innovative economic projects to discover future growth engines such as the second and third semiconductors." The focus of this research and development effort is on compound semiconductors represented by silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). The South Korean Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources has previously established a special working group aimed at upgrading wafer production facilities in professional parks in Busan, Pohang, and other areas. Power semiconductors, as core devices for power conversion and control, are key supports for AI data centers, new energy vehicles, and smart grids. In the context of the explosion of AI computing power, the stable and efficient operation of massive power in data centers highly depends on power semiconductors. Compared to traditional silicon-based semiconductors, third-generation semiconductor materials such as SiC and GaN exhibit excellent performance in high voltage, high temperature, and high frequency environments, and are considered key components to improve energy efficiency in AI data centers, extend the range of electric vehicles, and stabilize national power grids. The latest research report from institutions shows that the power semiconductor industry is entering an upturn phase. A research report by ICBC Credit Suisse Fund in June pointed out that driven by the dual factors of mature process capacity contraction in wafer foundries and explosive demand for AI computing power, the global power semiconductor market is facing a structural shortage, with MOSFET and third-generation semiconductor device prices continuing to rise, and some companies have already adjusted prices twice this year. China Securities Co., Ltd. simultaneously mentioned that new applications such as AI servers with 800V high-voltage direct current and solid-state transformers are accelerating the demand for high-end power devices, and the SiC/GaN market is entering a high-growth trajectory. This article was reprinted from Cailian News, GMTEight Editor: Chen Wenfang.