semiconductor you...○ Surplus boom, exports shudder

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics announced their fourth-quarter earnings today, which is what they call an "ing shock," which is far worse than the market expected.

First, if you look at Samsung Electronics, its operating profit plummeted more than 38 percent from the third quarter, the lowest in two years.

In the second half of last year, 스포츠토토사이트 semiconductor prices dropped a lot.

LG Electronics is also in a bad mood.

Its operating profit dropped by 90 percent compared to third quarter, and its operating profit ratio was 0.5 percent.

It's a small business, and its main business, home appliances and smartphones, didn't meet expectations.

Now, the day has come when the nation's two leading electronics companies have been in mourning, and I'm particularly concerned about semiconductors that have served as export drivers for a long time.

Since it accounts for 20 percent of Korea's total exports, the entire export is shaken when the semiconductor is shaken.

The reporter examined whether it was a temporary depression or a structural problem.

◀ Report ▶

Memory semiconductor D-RAM goes into PC, IT companies' servers, and Smart Home Appliance that is popular these days.

The price of D-RAM, which was over $8 four months ago, fell 13 percent to the beginning of $7 last month.

The plunging prices of major products directly led to a blow from Samsung Electronics, which is the mainstay of semiconductors.

Major customers such as Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba did not have to end up buying more semiconductors early last year, and Apple's poor sales of new iPhones also affected.

The problem is that this will also dampen our exports, which account for more than 20 percent of the semiconductor industry.

[The Bloomberg Report]
The performance of Samsung Electronics is very important to the Korean economy. But as you can see, it's not very good."

Exports in November, when the price of D-RAM began to drop, stood at $51.7 billion, a 0.5 percent increase from a year earlier.

Semiconductor prospects are not good for the time being.

The price drop is inevitable until the D-RAM is in stock for about two months.

However, there are many prospects that the situation will improve as new smartphones for 5G and the demand for semiconductors continues to rise in home appliances with AI technology.

[Song Myung Sub/Hi Investment & Securities Research Institute]
There`s a high chance that the business will improve in the second half of the year when demand increases. If semiconductor companies are accompanied by rationalization of production, there is a chance that the industry will improve a little faster."

Currently, semiconductor companies rely on memory chips for most of their profits.

In order to avoid the swelling due to the economy, it is necessary to diversify our system semiconductors and others that are in increasing demand, such as AI processors.

It's MBC News Apprentice.