On the 27th local time, the Korean media "JoongAng Daily" released its analysis of semiconductor patents applied by the world's five major intellectual property offices (IP5) such as South Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and the European Union, and found that in the past 20 years, the share of semiconductor patents applied by China in IP5 has soared from 14% in 2003 to 71.7% in 2022. At the same time, among the global semiconductor technology patents, the proportion of patents registered in China and the United States soared from 45.6% to 92.9%.
Korean media believe that as the competition for semiconductor leadership becomes more and more fierce, "the phenomenon of core technology concentration in China and the United States is becoming more and more obvious." On the other hand, the sharp decline in semiconductor patents in South Korea and the lack of attractiveness of the country's patent registration are cause for concern.
According to the analysis of the Central Daily, judging from the number of patent applications in the past 20 years, China's "semiconductor rise" status has been "certified". In 2003, China applied for 14 percent of IP5 semiconductor patents at the State Intellectual Property Office of China, and last year it had soared to 71.7 percent, according to the report.
Proportion of IP5 patents in each country/South Korea (blue), the United States (orange), China (brown), Japan (gray), and the European Union (dark gray) Screenshot from "JoongAng Daily"
In addition, from 2018 to 2022, China ranked first in the number of IP5 semiconductor patent applications (135,428) in the five years, far surpassing the second-ranked United States (87,573), and this figure is almost 5 times more than 15 years ago (2003-2007).
IP5 Semiconductor Patents Screenshot from JoongAng Daily
The report also mentioned that in the past 10 years, China has obtained many technical patents not only in the field of semiconductor small parts (materials, parts, equipment), but also in the fields of old and general-purpose semiconductors, and cutting-edge semiconductors. However, China stands at 2.89 on the Cited Index (CPP), which measures the quality of all patents, lower than the United States (6.96) and South Korea (5.15).
It can be seen that the United States has an advantage in the quality of advanced semiconductor and other technology patents, while China leads in the number of semiconductor patents, according to the Central Daily. The report quoted Kwak Hyun, a researcher at the Korea Intellectual Property Research Institute, as saying that the number of patent applications in each country is an important indicator for predicting the growth potential and market expansion of each country's semiconductor industry.
Returning to South Korea, JoongAng Ilbo believes that South Korea's "weakness" in the global semiconductor competition is becoming more and more obvious.
According to reports, in the past five years, South Korea has applied for 18,911 semiconductor patents, which is far behind China and the United States, and only slightly higher than Japan, which ranks fourth (18,602). At the same time, the share of IP5 in South Korea's semiconductor patents fell to 2.4% last year from 21.2% in 2003. In a separate editorial, JoongAng Ilbo worried that if South Korea's semiconductor industry does not undergo a "radical innovation", it may even be surpassed by Japan in the next 10 years.
In addition, although South Korean companies Samsung Electronics and SK hynix dominate the field of memory semiconductors, system semiconductors, which are the core of artificial intelligence, are a "weak link" in the global semiconductor competition. If the number of semiconductor-related patents is classified by field, South Korea has 33,291 system semiconductors in the past 20 years, accounting for 57% of all Korean semiconductor patents, which is also far behind the other four.
The proportion of system semiconductor patents in semiconductor patent applications by country
The JoongAng Daily also noted that among the global semiconductor technology patents, the proportion of patents registered in China and the United States soared from 45.6% to 92.9%. According to the report, as the competition for semiconductor leadership becomes more and more fierce, the core technology of semiconductors is increasingly concentrated in the United States and China, and South Korea's "charm" as a patent registry is declining.
Moreover, among the top 10 IP5 semiconductor technology patent applicants and institutions, some from Chinese mainland have also changed from the "only seedling" Chinese Academy of Sciences 20 years ago (9th in 2003 and 10th in 2022) to the current situation of occupying "half of the country" - newly joined Baidu (2nd), Ping An (4th), Tencent (6th) and Huawei (9th). South Korea, on the other hand, has been dominated by Samsung Electronics (No. 1) and LG Electronics (No. 10) in 2003, and now only Samsung (No. 3) is left on the list.
"The sense of crisis brought about by the deepening contradictions between China and the United States is stimulating the development of semiconductor technology in China. Yoon Jung-seok, chief researcher of the Industrial Policy Group at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "It is necessary for South Korea to consider subsidy policies in a forward-looking manner to maintain the global competitiveness of the domestic semiconductor industry." ”
Earlier (14th), the South Korean media "Dong-A Daily" reported with the title of "The United States suppresses China, South Korea is crumbling" that after the United States escalated its containment measures against China, the business environment of South Korean semiconductor equipment, raw materials, and parts companies has also become difficult, and the brunt of it has been affected. In the face of the increasing industry difficulties, on December 13, local time, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol paid a state visit to the Netherlands, and South Korea hopes that the "semiconductor alliance" with the Netherlands covering government, enterprises and universities can enhance its competitiveness.
In an interview with French media before his trip, Yin Xiyue said that the strategic competition between China and the United States is becoming increasingly fierce, and the strategic importance of the semiconductor industry is higher than ever. Therefore, the alliance has also been analyzed as a move by South Korea to move closer to Western countries out of political considerations, but it also means that the future prospects of South Korea's semiconductor industry will inevitably depend on the "face" of the United States' China policy.
On December 13, local time, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was on a state visit to the Netherlands, shook hands with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
South Korean media quoted South Korean industry analysis as saying that after the escalation of US containment measures, China is rapidly building a relevant ecosystem in its country, and the export road of Korean companies to China has also been blocked, "The foothold of Korean products in China's semiconductor market is shrinking." According to the report, most industry insiders in South Korea believe that the United States' approach has accelerated the speed of China's semiconductor independence, and China's attempts will not only stop at traditional chips, "The more the United States tightens, the faster China's self-reliance will be, so it is more terrifying."
Statistics released by the Korea International Trade Association on the 12th show that South Korea's semiconductor equipment exports to China from January to October this year were about 690 million US dollars, a decrease of 38.9% over the same period last year, while the Chinese market accounted for 56% of South Korea's semiconductor equipment exports last year, which is an "absolute market" for South Korea.
Kim Hyuk-jung, an associate researcher at the Korea Institute for Foreign Economic Policy, recently analyzed the value of equipment imports from China's traditional semiconductor production regions based on statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, showing that China's total imports from January to September increased by 62.5% year-on-year, but imports from South Korea decreased by 33.2%.
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