<Anchor>

More than 100 heads of major domestic groups will also be on an economic mission to the summit with the United States.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin pointed out that the United States has recently come up with a series of policies to contain China, and whether discussions can be held in a way that reduces the damage to our companies.

<Reporter>

The accompanying economic delegation consisted of 122 people.

Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Chairman Choi Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun and LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo were among the four major group heads and heads of major economic organizations.

Economic cooperation centered on high-tech industries is expected, but the main concern is whether they will achieve results in the Semiconductor Support Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA.

In the case of the Semiconductor Support Act, in order to receive a grant of up to $4 million, it is necessary to fulfill somewhat unreasonable conditions, such as the submission of trade secret materials and the sharing of excess profits, and it will be interesting to see if an agreement can be reached to minimize the scope of these conditions during the visit.

There is also an urgent need to extend the grace period for the introduction of U.S.-made semiconductor equipment into our factories in China.

As a result of the IRA's implementation, Hyundai has been excluded from all EV subsidies, and a proposal to secure a time moratorium until it reduces its dependence on batteries in China may be considered.

However, the situation is not easy.

Amid the growing possibility that the Chinese government has restricted domestic exports to Micron, a US semiconductor company, it was recently reported that the US government asked our side not to make up for the shortage of semiconductors in China by domestic companies.

[Yang Pang Kim/Researcher, Korea Institute of Industrial Research: From the company's point of view, it is clearly expected that there will be losses to the company, and even if it is difficult to oppose it outright, it will not accept the whole story through negotiations or other means....]

The Ministry of Industry, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix have stated that there was no official request from the US side, but if such pressure becomes a reality in the future, the worries of our government and companies caught between the US-China hegemony struggle will inevitably increase.

(Video Interview: Nam Sung Kim, Video Editing: Won Hyung-hee)