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As the supply and demand of semiconductors for automobiles is prolonged, the production of automobile manufacturers is also being disrupted. When the production of the electric vehicle 'IONIQ 5' was delayed, Hyundai Motors even held an event to give a discount of 1 million won if it was replaced with a hydrogen car 'Nexo'. Above all, in order to fundamentally solve this situation, it is necessary to localize automotive semiconductors, but there seems to be a long way to go.



Correspondent Lee Seong-hoon.



<Reporter> It is



a domestic fabless company that designs semiconductors for vehicles.



We invested KRW 80 billion for 8 years and are now supplying them to automakers such as Hyundai Motor.



[Kyungsoo Kim / CEO of Automotive Semiconductor Company: Due to electric vehicles and autonomous driving, the market we can enter continues to open. Obviously, system semiconductor companies can also get opportunities.]



However, the development and mass production process was not easy.



Automotive semiconductors have high barriers to entry, such as having to pass strict certification procedures because safety is the top priority, but risks such as recalls are high and profitability is relatively low.



[Kim Kyung-soo/CEO of Automotive Semiconductor Company: In the early stages, there are primary barriers to entry in various permits, and it takes 6 to 7 years from the product planning stage to mass production.]



Therefore, the need for government-level support is also raised.



[Kim Joo-hong / Managing Director of Korea Automobile Industry Association: I think some kind of support is needed from the government level, such as R&D (research and development) investment or infrastructure support to build safety and reliability.]



Aside from large companies, there is a serious shortage of specialists in semiconductors.



[Chun Yi-Woo/Director of research department for automotive semiconductor companies: It is very difficult to develop semiconductors because there are no human resources. You go to big companies. Small and medium fabless companies like us don't come often.] It



is also essential to establish a system for close cooperation between semiconductor manufacturers and automakers.



[Ahn Ki-hyun / Executive Vice President of Korea Semiconductor Industry Association: It is really unfamiliar because we do not have a good connection with each other and have no experience working together. We have to clarify the demand and develop it together according to the clear demand.] The



localization rate of semiconductors for vehicles in Korea is only 2%.



It is pointed out that the preparation of countermeasures should not be delayed to prepare for the era of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles, which require at least 10 times more semiconductor parts than internal combustion locomotives.



(Video editing: Kim Seon-tak, VJ: Jung Min-goo)