South Korea's economy relies heavily on semiconductor exports... and local chipmakers are bracing for rivals from China.
And a latest report shows... that China's technology in the field will surpass Korea's in the future.
Our Ko Roon-hee explains.
Researchers at Hyundai Research Institute have warned that Korea's semiconductor industry is expected to face increased pressure from Chinese rivals.

Although the report released on Sunday did not provide a timeline of when this will happen, it says local companies' market share in the global chip industry will decrease at a faster rate... if special countermeasures aren't prepared.

This comes after Beijing's moves to dominate hi-tech industries, including semiconductors, by increasing investment.

This is part of Beijing's 'Made in China 2025' goals... aimed at increasing the domestic content of core components.
Although the movement has been hit by the U.S.-China trade war, previous plans include... increasing the proportion of home-made chips so they account for 40 percent of the local market by 2020, and at least 70-percent by 2025.

Meanwhile, a separate report by research firm TrendForce shows that China's semiconductor industry revenue will grow by more than 16-percent in 2019.
Although this marks the slowest pace in 5-years because of the continued trade conflicts, the report says the local chip industry will continue to grow... thanks to emerging technologies like AI, 5G, and autonomous vehicles.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.