South Korea

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South Korea Unveils National Strategy to Lead Global AI Semiconductor Race

Dec. 11, 2025 | Technology & Innovation

South Korea is charting an ambitious path to solidify its leadership in semiconductor technology and policy amid the global AI race.

**On December 10, 2025, President Lee Jae-myung convened a high-level briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul under the theme “K-Semiconductor Vision and Development Strategy in the AI Era.” The briefing brought together key government figures and roughly 40 leaders from industry, academia and research institutions, including representatives from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.**
It stressed the dual role of the semiconductor sector as an engine of economic growth and a pillar of national security as global rivalry in AI technologies intensifies.

**The government set strategic objectives to secure South Korea’s place among the world’s top two in both memory and foundry by preserving an “ultra-gap” technological edge.**
It aims to increase domestic fabless semiconductor revenue tenfold and achieve technology and production sovereignty through the development and commercialization of next-generation memory solutions and neural processing units. The plan also calls for strengthening system semiconductor capabilities—especially on-device AI chips—and for achieving self-reliance in defense-grade semiconductors.

**To support these goals, the strategy launches a Global No 1 Development Project to reinforce supply chains for materials, parts and equipment.**
It calls for opening semiconductor-focused graduate schools to build a larger skilled workforce and for creating a Southern Region Innovation Belt to expand the nation’s semiconductor ecosystem. During the briefing, participants discussed changes in the AI-driven industry, plans to increase production capacity and the need to cultivate a robust AI semiconductor technology and ecosystem.

**On December 11, President Lee will meet with business executives from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, government officials and industry experts to refine strategies for advancing the semiconductor sector, with a particular focus on AI chip development.**
The session aims to address rising global competition for AI technology leadership through a coordinated national strategy.

**Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan will present an integrated government roadmap that emphasizes strengthening manufacturing capabilities in memory and foundry, expanding the nation’s role in chip design and accelerating next-generation semiconductors tailored to AI model requirements.**
The presidential office framed the global AI contest as a semiconductor-centered technology battle, prompting President Lee to mobilize national resources directly to bolster the industry.

US Approves Nvidia H200 AI Chip Exports to China in Strategic Shift of Semiconductor Policy

Dec. 11, 2025 | Geopolitics & Defense

The United States has granted permission for the export of Nvidia’s H200 AI chip to China, ushering in a new phase of semiconductor trade dynamics.

**The United States approved the export of Nvidia’s H200 AI chip to China, partially relaxing the 2022 restrictions.**
Former President Donald Trump announced the deal on December 8, 2025, allowing Nvidia, AMD, Intel and other American firms to sell the H200 under conditions designed to protect national security. This represents the first approval for such an advanced AI processor since the 2022 export controls took effect.

**Based on the 2023 Hopper architecture, the H200 delivers roughly twice the inference performance and six times the AI training power of the earlier H20 chip.**
US officials excluded more advanced Nvidia products—those built on the Blackwell architecture and the forthcoming Rubin family—from the arrangement. By permitting exports of this earlier-generation, high-performance chip, policymakers aim to preserve a technological lead without forfeiting access to lucrative sales.

**Under the agreement, Nvidia must remit 25 percent of its China-derived revenues from H200 sales to the US government, up from an initial 15 percent proposal.**
The government will allocate these funds to bolster domestic job creation and semiconductor manufacturing, balancing export facilitation with continued economic and security interests in strategic technology.

**South Korean suppliers SK hynix and Samsung Electronics stand to gain from increased H200 orders, as both companies produce the eight-layer HBM3E high-bandwidth memory modules integral to the chip’s performance.**
China’s mandate favoring domestically produced semiconductors may limit H200 imports, depending on Beijing’s policy toward foreign hardware deployment versus homegrown alternatives.

**Observers view this approval as a strategic shift in Washington’s competition with China in AI and semiconductors.**
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says selling chips to China reinforces US market influence and deepens Chinese reliance on American technology. The decision reflects a belief that US leverage over China’s chip capabilities has weakened after advances by firms such as Huawei. It also aligns with the more conciliatory climate ahead of the planned April 2026 US-China summit, using exports and financial terms to shape broader technology relations.

Monitored Intelligence for South Korea - Dec. 11, 2025

News
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253

Government
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24

City/State
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34

Embassy
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0

Foreign
Service
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0

Academic/
Think
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5

Podcasts
0

Videos
0

Social
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0

Business
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1

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1 in 20 people in Korea comes from migrant background, figures show

Hankyoreh - E | English | News | Dec. 11, 2025 | UndeterminedDemographics

As of November 1, 2024, one in every 20 people in Korea has a migrant background, totaling 2.72 million individuals. This represents 5.2% of Korea’s total population of 51.8 million, an increase of 134,000 people or 5.2% from the previous year. People with a migrant background include foreign nationals, naturalized Korean citizens, and Koreans with at least one migrant parent.

Foreign nationals constitute the largest portion, with 2.04 million people or 75.2% of the migrant-background population, reflecting a 5.6% increase from the prior year. Korean nationals with a migrant background number 672,000 (24.8%), including second-generation immigrants (381,000), naturalized citizens (245,000), and others (46,000). Over half (56.8%) of the migrant-background population lives in the greater Seoul area, with Gyeonggi Province hosting the largest share at 887,000 people, followed by Seoul and Incheon.

Several cities and counties have migrant-background populations exceeding 10% of their total, including Yeongam County (21.1%), Eumseong County (19.9%), and Ansan in Gyeonggi Province (16.1%). The under-24 age group with migrant backgrounds totaled 738,000, up 7.9% from last year, with foreign nationals and second-generation immigrants making up 95.3% of this group. The most common nationalities or parental nationalities among young people with migrant backgrounds are Vietnamese (27.2%), Chinese (16.5%), and ethnically Korean Chinese (12%).

FM vows to strengthen cooperation with Pacific Islands in climate change, oceans

Yonhap | English | News | Dec. 11, 2025 | Climate Change

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun pledged to enhance cooperation with Pacific Island countries (PICs) on climate change, digital initiatives, and development projects during the sixth Korea-Pacific Islands foreign ministers' meeting held in Seoul on December 9, 2025. Seoul has doubled its official development assistance compared to 2023, focusing on climate resilience, digital capacity, and resource management aligned with local needs.

The meeting, co-hosted by Cho and Solomon Islands' Foreign Minister Peter Shannel Agovaka, convened 17 members of the Pacific Islands Forum, including 14 PICs, Australia, and New Zealand. The forum promotes cooperation among 18 Pacific nations and territories. A joint statement was adopted to boost collaboration on climate, environmental issues, oceans, maritime affairs, and fisheries.

Additionally, the ministers welcomed South Korea’s initiative to co-host the fourth U.N. Ocean Conference with Chile in 2028, signaling continued commitment to ocean preservation and sustainable development in the Pacific region.

S. Korea, U.S. to hold senior-level talks on economic, industrial cooperation this week

Yonhap | English | News | Dec. 11, 2025 | UndeterminedBizdev-Partnering

Senior diplomats from South Korea and the United States will meet in Washington this week to discuss economic and industrial cooperation under a bilateral trade and investment agreement. The talks, known as the Senior Economic Dialogue (SED), will be led by South Korea's Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg on Wednesday.

The SED follows a joint fact sheet released on November 13 that outlines agreements on trade, investment, and security, which were finalized during the second summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in late October. The U.S. State Department emphasized that the dialogue highlights the U.S. commitment to a future-focused agenda within the bilateral alliance, which is described as a key element for peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

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