South Korea: Korea Semiconductor, now third in market capitalization, should expedite discussions on special law

Broadcom, a US fabless company specializing in semiconductor design, has surpassed the $1 trillion market capitalization mark. On the 13th of this month, its stock price on the New York Stock Exchange rose 2% from the previous day.
The stock surged 4.4% to close at $224.8, giving it a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion. This puts Broadcom ahead of America's NVIDIA ($3.334 trillion) and Taiwan's TSMC
Samsung Electronics has risen to the top three in the global semiconductor industry with $1.42 trillion in sales. This news makes us reflect on the current state of the Korean semiconductor industry and companies.
In 2013, it overtook Intel to become the world's number one semiconductor company, and enjoyed a decade of heyday. However, its current market capitalization remains at the 200 billion dollar level, far behind the top three global companies.
It also appears to be struggling to compete for fourth place with ASML of the Netherlands and others. The biggest reason is that it has not properly prepared for the AI (artificial intelligence) era. Broadcom is
Samsung Electronics has a strong track record in the technology that connects the chip and the chips, and with the advent of the AI era, this technology is in the spotlight and investment is focused on. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics is focusing on high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is essential for realizing AI.
) technology, the company is also losing out to its Korean rival SK Hynix in this field. In any industry, companies rise and fall constantly.
However, we cannot just watch and criticize companies like we watch a sports game. The semiconductor industry is a strategic field that determines the competitiveness of a nation.
As a result, major countries around the world are competing to inject national finances into support. In South Korea's case, semiconductors account for more than 20% of exports, so the impact on the economy is significant.
In this situation, it is unfortunate that the National Assembly's discussions on the enactment of a special law on semiconductors are being delayed due to the aftermath of the state of emergency and the impeachment administration.
A special bill for semiconductors, including subsidy support and exceptions to the Labor Law on working hours, has been submitted to the Diet, but it is unclear at this point when deliberations will resume.
However, I hope that both the ruling and opposition parties will expedite the process of emergency bills such as the Special Semiconductor Law.