▲Ahn Ki-hyun, Executive Director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association


“Cars are becoming more electronic, and semiconductors are the key to their functions”
“If we don’t have semiconductors, we will remain in the position of chasing other countries.”

As numerous functions are being applied to automobiles and the number of semiconductors installed is expected to increase rapidly, experts claim that the automobile and semiconductor industries, which have been turning their backs on each other, must now face each other.

Ahn Ki-hyun, executive director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, appeared as a presenter at the 8th 'Jasan Eobo' event held by the Korea Automobile Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as Hanjayeon) at the COEX Startup Branch on the topic of automotive semiconductors. He emphasized cooperation between the automobile and semiconductor industries, saying that in order for our country's automobiles to become world-class in terms of global competitiveness and lead the market, we must make our own semiconductors.

Executive Director Ahn Ki-hyun said, “Although the semiconductor market is not booming, the outlook for the automotive semiconductor market will continue to improve due to numerous functions resulting from electrification and autonomous driving functions.” He added, “Cars are no longer mechanical devices, but electronic devices that require rapid recognition, calculation, and control, and semiconductors are considered the core of automobile functions.”

Automobiles are equipped with hundreds of semiconductors, including ECUs, ADAS, infotainment, and sensors. Electric vehicles have about 1,000, and Level 3 autonomous vehicles have about 2,000. Semiconductors are installed.

When comparing the number of Level 3 autonomous vehicles, there are seven times more than regular internal combustion engine vehicles.

Building on their experience of having to disrupt vehicle production due to a shortage of automotive semiconductors, leading countries are focusing on localization, emphasizing the importance of their own manufacturing facilities.

Europe, the United States, and Japan occupy most of the global automotive semiconductor market share, and Korea has a global presence in the memory semiconductor sector, but is not gaining ground in automotive semiconductors.

Executive Director Ahn warned that in this situation, in order for our country's automobiles to become the world's best in terms of global competitiveness and lead the market, we must manufacture our own semiconductors, and if we use semiconductors made by other global companies, we will inevitably continue to lag behind.

Another trend to watch is on-device AI.

“All electronic devices will be equipped with artificial intelligence, and automobiles are no exception,” said Executive Director Ahn. “Last year, generative AI services expanded centered on data centers, but in 2024, demand for on-device AI is expected to increase due to reasons such as customized demand, security, and cost reduction.”

He then criticized the semiconductor and automobile industries for turning their backs on the situation.

Executive Director Ahn emphasized, “Since vehicle semiconductors are located within the automobile industry, we must recognize that the two industries are looking in the same direction,” and “Only by facing each other and thinking together can both our country’s semiconductor and automobile industries develop.”

Seunghwan Lee, head of the semiconductor and sensor technology division at Hanjayeon, also gave a presentation on ‘Trends and Outlook for Automotive Semiconductor Technology’ I agreed with what Executive Director Ahn Ki-hyun said.

▲Lee Seung-hwan, Head of Semiconductor and Sensor Technology Division, Hanjayeon

Vice President Lee Seung-hwan said, “As we move toward SDV and architectural changes such as centralization are anticipated, OEMs leading the trend should share their unique assets such as user scenarios with the domestic semiconductor industry, even if only to a limited extent, build trust, and establish an ecosystem.” He added, “It would be ideal for both the automobile and semiconductor industries to move forward one step at a time and strengthen domestic capabilities.”

Meanwhile, the Jasan Eobo event hosted by Hanjayeon is an abbreviation for 'Uniting and Supporting the Automobile Industry' and is a regular networking event in the mobility industry that aims to share useful information and expand collaboration among members based on regular meetings and exchanges among members of the mobility industry.

This 8th event covered a wide range of topics including industry trends and prospects for 'vehicle semiconductors', the core of software-centric vehicles (SDVs) that are attracting attention in the advanced mobility industry, as well as ecosystem building and market dominance strategies.

The Korea Automobile Research Institute said, “Vehicle semiconductors that control various functions of automobiles are playing a vital role in improving safety, efficiency, and connectivity and in the transition to advanced mobility, and the global market is expanding accordingly.” “We will work together to ensure that exchanges and cooperation among industry members at this event can lead to the establishment of a supply chain ecosystem and domination of the global market.”uo; he said.