How Korea can turn its chip boom into lasting strength

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a bonanza for Korea's two chip giants, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Yet the very boom that has lifted profits, exports and investment is also reviving an old anxiety: Korea remains heavily exposed to an industry whose fortunes can turn with brutal speed. Leif Eskesen, chief economist at CLSA, warned that Korea's reliance on semiconductors could prove to be a double-edged sword, urging the country to preserve its competitive edge in memory chips through continued investment and innovation while also cultivating new growth engines beyond the semiconductor sector. "It has been an important driver of growth in the past. It is an important driver of Korea's export and investment story, and it is one of the reasons why we think growth this year could come up in the neighborhood of 3 percent," Eskesen told The Korea Times in a recent interview. "However, when and if that sort of cycle turns, it will spill over through the export and the investment channel." Eskesen is visiting Korea to participate the CITIC CLSA's inaugural Northeast Asia Forum in Seo