Who helped Samsung become chip giant
Through the 1980s, Japan pushed the United States — the birthplace and longtime leader of the semiconductor industry — out of the world memory chip market, and the damage ran deep enough that Intel gave up DRAM, the short-term memory that holds a computer's working data. American chipmakers came to believe Japan could not be beaten in memory chips, and Washington and the industry began looking…
In the 1980s, Japan drove the United States, the birthplace and long-standing leader of the semiconductor industry, out of the global memory chip market. This loss was significant, as it caused Intel to abandon DRAM, the short-term memory responsible for a computer's working data. American chipmakers began to doubt their ability to compete against Japan in the memory chip sector, prompting Washington and the industry to seek ways to counter this perceived Japanese dominance.
Two questions arose: how to curb Japan's progress and where to discover a capable successor to challenge them.
The country that rose as a memory chip powerhouse in the 1990s was Korea, and Intel played a part in Korea's rise to dominance. Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chul, while watching a report on the semiconductor company his son had purchased, expressed disbelief. Lee's son, Lee Kun-hee, who was then a director at Samsung's broadcasting arm TBC, had acquired Hankook Semiconductor in 1974 after the company went bankrupt due to financial difficulties.
Hankook Semiconductor was an early Korean semiconductor firm that would later become a key player in the industry.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Who helped Samsung become chip giant koreatimes.co.kr
