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Global semiconductor companies and IT companies are making announcements one after another to reduce investment and employment.
As it is now, it is interpreted to mean that the economic situation will become more difficult in the future, and that it will prepare in advance by reducing the amount of money going out.
By Jung Joon-ho.
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SK hynix has stopped planning to build a new factory in Cheongju.
The Cheongju plant was scheduled to be completed to the size of 60 soccer fields by 2025.
But the board, which makes the final decision, put the brakes on it.
A global economic downturn is expected, and large-scale investments were judged to be risky.
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SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said last week that "investment may be delayed in a situation where interest and debt prices continue to rise," which is also interpreted as reflecting this atmosphere.
In fact, as the world suffers from high interest rates and high inflation, consumption of electronic products such as smartphones, home appliances and computers is decreasing.
DRAM sales of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world's first and second largest memory semiconductors, decreased in the first quarter, and the situation is not expected to improve in the second half of the year.
Apple, the world's No. 1 company in market capitalization, which uses a lot of Korean parts, made a similar announcement today.
The plan is to cut some of the hiring and R&D budgets next year.
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Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Tesla have already started to cut costs, but it seems to be following.
[Kang Seong-jin/Professor of Economics at Korea University: Selling is likely to sell less, but financial costs are going up
. They will also be hit directly.
In particular, as information and communication technology accounts for a third of Korea's total exports, it is highly likely to lead to a slowdown in economic growth.
(Video editing: Seungjin Lee)