● As if it was a day of walking ...

In the end, 18 days came to the forefront. It is the day when Japan informed our country unilaterally, not on any official day, but there are many people and companies watching the reaction of both Japan and our country. On this day, it is the day that Japan insists that it is obliged to comply with the request for constitution of arbitration committee based on the Korea-Japan claim right treaty with respect to the judgment for compensation of dispute in Korea. The Blue House said yesterday that it would not accept Japan 's proposal to form the final stage of the mediation, but today Japan repeated the same request again. Indeed, there is a growing sense of tension in the industry, especially in the semiconductor industry, as there will be further moves tomorrow.
In fact, today (17th) was the day when US Assistant Secretary of State David Stillwell was visiting and hoping for a solution. Actually, Steelwell said after the meeting, "Do you intend to engage in the US-Japan conflict?" He said, "Because we are allies, we will be involved in all issues related to Korea and the United States." "We basically have to solve this sensitive issue and hope to find a solution soon," Steelwell said at a brief meeting with South Korean officials. "We have discussed our position and Assistant Secretary Stiller has made his own efforts to help solve this problem through the resumption of the dialogue. I will. " But of course there is no clear news yet.

After 18th, the situation is reversed or it is hard to know whether it will get worse. In fact, on the 21st, the Japanese House of Councilors election is the most popular event. This is even more so if you look at the cards Abe used to win the election in fact. However, the outlook after the election is still foggy. Some say that the election will weaken after the election, and some say that the Abe administration will become stronger and stronger. The WTO General Council is also gaining attention as a major turning point. This is because Japan may show a change in the way of the opinion of the international community.

● Many strategies and actions for survival

In any case, the most nervous and obsessive part of our industry is the question of whether additional sanctions will be imposed between the 18th and the 21st, and the 23rd, broadly. Because it is a situation that we excluded from the actual whitelist, the possibility of additional provocation tends to be high in tension. The Japanese government's approval for exports of EUV photoresists, hydrogen fluoride, polyimide, and so on, has been blocked by the government, and it is becoming more and more difficult here. But in fact, it is not a situation that you can not do if you say something more frustrating. What does this mean?
In fact, this situation has begun to emerge on the 14th of last Sunday when Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong's articles on his return came to the fore. The vice-chairman went directly to Japan and secured emergency supplies. But Samsung has not officially recognized it. No, I can not even officially admit it. It may be as if the vice-chairman has solved the situation that is politically and diplomatically twisted, and it may result in irritating the Japanese government. If the government of Japan actually did this to prevent non-memory semiconductors in Korea, which Samsung decided to invest aggressively, saying that it is a next-generation growth engine, how angry will it be for this news? There are actions, strategies, and preparations that can not be confirmed, can not be said easily, and things that are not welcome to be published as articles continue to spread. It is also the case that we procure from overseas, the amount of material we have now, and all the parts related to domestic materials testing. And these troubles were given to the media equally.

● Write this? Do not you? A frustrating press

According to my colleague reporters who reported on this issue from the very beginning of the export regulation, before I started covering this area. "At first, the media seemed to be too detailed and deeply showing the weaknesses of our industry, so there was such a consensus that we would have to use only as much as possible, so I did not even know it." Of course, Japan would have already known and attacked, but each word contained the worries of reporters.
However, 'Yeouido' where money moves also is cold. In cold logic, information starts to add up one by one. Still, it is true that one line per article is troubled. SK Hynix is ​​not able to say that even if DRAM and NAND memory inventory is the highest level in less than 10 years, even if you write articles with facts that you can not sell for two months, you should not worry. I think it would be nice if you look at how easy it is to say "It's okay" because it is the No. 1 semiconductor in the market.

But it can not promote fear. Samsung and SK Hynix are not the right companies to talk about as if they were going to happen right away. The world knows that the two companies are so great that they have caught up with Japanese semiconductor companies and have been able to jump over and over to this place as a representative business success story. The depth of coverage of my colleagues who have covered this field for a long time is reported, but many of them have not been included in the article because of these reasons. I will excuse myself for having trouble with my lack of skills and the fact that I am not sure whether it is okay or not, and that something is going to be a result of all kinds of articles.

'Not to mention'. I have a lot of words to say these days but I will not do that. Recently, the situation of the semiconductor industry such as Samsung and SK Hynix related to the export regulation of Japan seems to be able to express in this words. I hope that the situation in both countries can be completed without any additional conflict as long as I am stuck with it like this.

(Photo: Yonhap News)