US asks South Korea not to fill chip shortfalls in China: report

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will visit the US on Monday for a summit with President Joe Biden.

The United States has asked South Korea to urge its chipmakers not to fill a market gap in China if Beijing bans memory chipmaker Micron Technology from selling chips, the Financial Times reports.

The news comes ahead of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to the US on Monday for a summit with President Joe Biden.

Yoon’s trip from April 24-29 will be the first state visit by a South Korean leader to the US since 2011 and will mark the 70th anniversary of the countries’ alliance.

Washington asked Seoul to encourage Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix not to boost sales to China if Micron is banned as a result of an investigation by Beijing, the FT reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation.

China’s cyberspace regulator said in March it would conduct a safety assessment of Micron’s products sold in the country. The chipmaker said last month it was cooperating with the Chinese government and its operations in the country were normal.

The White House did not comment on the FT report, but added that the Biden and Yoon administrations have made efforts to coordinate investments in the semiconductor sector, secure critical technologies and address economic constraints.

The US has imposed a series of export controls on chip-making technology on China, fearing it could be used to produce chips for military applications. It has blacklisted some of China’s largest chip companies, including Micron rival Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd.