The global semiconductor market is estimated to have grown by a significant 19.0% year-on-year last year to reach a total value of US$627 billion. This shift was positively driven by improved performance in the second and third quarters, particularly in the computing sector. In the first half of 2024, South Korea's semiconductor exports grew by 52.2% y-o-y. In particular, exports of memory semiconductors grew by 78.9% over the same period, showing that this segment is recovering domestically and focusing on new growth engines such as semiconductors for artificial intelligence. This is also why startups in this area are now attracting attention in South Korea. Some of the main ones include DEEPX, FuriosaAI and Mobilint, for example. Global forecasts for the semiconductor market this year, meanwhile, predict growth of 11.2%, which would stabilise its value at around USD 697 billion.

More than 500 exhibitors arrived in Seoul, South Korea, in mid-February for the most important event of its kind in the region - SEMICON Korea 2025. This year's event, with the subtitle "Lead the Edge", traditionally attracted major global players such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Micron, GlobalFoundries, Infineon, Kioxia or ASML, Applied Materials, TEL and KLA. A major theme at this year's show was the issue of dealing with the limits that current semiconductor technologies are beginning to reach and finding ways to counter this. Traditional participants at the event included representatives from the Czech Republic - TESCAN, which manufactures scanning electron microscopes, and SVCS Process Innovation, which designs and manufactures horizontal and vertical furnaces for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries. These have been joined by UNITES Systems a.s., a company mainly engaged in measuring and testing equipment.

Further important information on this segment can be obtained from the links below:

 

1. Korea Semiconductor Industry Association: https://www.ksia.or.kr/

2. Invest KOREA: https://www.investkorea.org/ik-en/cntnts/i-5021/web.do?clickArea=enmain00009

3. Korea Trade‐Investment Promotion Agency: http://dl.kotra.or.kr/pyxis-api/1/digital-files/c16960f0-1059-018a-e053-b46464899664

If interested, Czech companies can contact the Commercial Department of the Czech Embassy in Seoul at: seoul.commerce@mzv.gov.cz.

Jakub Kopecký, head of the commercial department at the Czech Embassy in Seoul