The US government is applying diplomatic pressure on South Korea to push its memory chip giants to establish large‑scale storage fab projects in the United States, citing supply chain security concerns, according to Chosun.

Washington has reportedly expressed unofficial displeasure over South Korea’s recently unveiled Semiconductor Hub Plan, arguing that while Seoul aggressively supports domestic fab expansion, Korean firms’ investment pace in the US remains sluggish. Sources within South Korea’s ruling party said the US has explicitly called for memory fab construction – and pressure has intensified after three major domestic semiconductor projects were announced. Insiders clarified that the US does not oppose Korea’s local projects per se, but is frustrated by the lack of concrete US investment plans from Korean companies.

To address the issue, South Korea’s Trade and Industry Minister Kim Jung‑gwan traveled to the US on August 16 for a four‑day negotiation. Seoul maintains that the US investment request falls outside the $350B investment framework agreed between the two countries last year.

ICgoodFind Takeaway:
The US push is essentially a scramble for memory capacity. A reshuffle of global storage supply chains may be on the horizon – and fab location decisions will be key.