US ‘pulls strings’ to lure SK Hynix, Samsung plants

South Korean chip giant SK Hynix plans to set up an advanced chip packaging plant in a US city next year, Reuters reported on Friday, marking the latest development in the US’ attempt to lure South Korean chip firms away from China through various means, including setting up a chip alliance and its domestic CHIPS Act.

Chinese analysts noted that behind the reported move is the US “pulling strings” and playing all kinds of tricks to entice more South Korean chip firms to invest in the US and Samsung, among others, could be a major target.

Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reported that SK Hynix’s planned plant in the US is estimated to cost several billion dollars.

The reported plan came just days after US President Joe Biden signed into law the so-called CHIPS and Science Act. The US is also pressuring allies, including South Korea, to form a so-called chip alliance.

Such developments are signs that the US is using tactics of all kinds, whether they involve legislation like the CHIPS Act or other tricks to lure South Korea’s chip giants. Other South Korean chip giants, particularly Samsung, may also be a major target for such US efforts, experts noted.

In what analysts describe as a boon for Samsung, Samsung heir Lee Jaeyong will be granted a presidential pardon next week. The move would pave the way for Lee to retake the helm of the company, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

While how that affects Samsung’s decision about investing in the US remains unclear, Xiang Ligang, a veteran tech analyst, noted that the US government may be pulling all kinds of strings, including “political operations,” to try to lure South Korean chipmakers including Samsung to abandon China and set up plants in the US.

South Korean firms have so far shown an inclination to sit on the fence, analysts noted. Given their presence in the Chinese market, experts said that there’s no way for the US to succeed in letting overseas chip giants entirely forsake the Chinese market.