The United States has strengthened controls on advanced AI chips from China and expanded the scope of its control over semiconductor equipment.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security revised the export control measures announced in October of last year and published them in the Official Gazette on the 17th (U.S. time).

Looking at the main contents, in order to strengthen control over advanced AI chips, the control standards were expanded, the scope of application was expanded to include companies headquartered in China and countries of concern, and the licensing system was expanded to cover approximately 40 countries of security concern, excluding China, to prevent circumvention of exports.

Semiconductor equipment was further expanded to include etching, exposure, deposition, and cleaning equipment, and the licensing system was expanded to include 21 countries of concern, excluding China.

The U.S. has added 13 Chinese companies involved in advanced chip production to its Entity List of Concerns.

The impact of this latest US export control measure on our industry is expected to be limited.

For cutting-edge AI chips, domestic production is minimal, and consumer chips are exempt from controls, so the impact is expected to be minimal.

In the case of semiconductor equipment, as our companies have already obtained VEU approval, the impact of this measure is assessed to be minimal.

For reference, separate from the export control strengthening measures, the U.S. Department of Commerce published the VEU approval for our company in the Official Gazette on October 13 and issued a press release (Attachment 2) stating that the VEU approval is based on the strong Korea-U.S. alliance and the Korea-U.S. supply chain.It was assessed that this reflected close consultations between the two countries through various channels, including the Standard Cooperation on Communications for Industry (SCCD) and the Export Control Working Group.

The government plans to closely analyze the latest strengthened U.S. export controls and continue efforts to minimize their impact on our industry. It also plans to closely cooperate with the U.S. on stabilizing the global semiconductor supply chain and addressing export controls.