Yeo Han-koo (left), Minister for Trade, Investment and Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum) to be held in Davos, Switzerland for four days starting on the 19th (local time). U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik will also attend, but the possibility of the two meeting is reportedly very slim. [Photo=Yonhap News]  

Yeo Han-koo, Minister for Trade, Investment and Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum) to be held in Davos, Switzerland for four days starting on the 19th (local time).

Attention is focused on whether progress will be made in semiconductor discussions between South Korea and the United States, in relation to Minister Yeo's trip and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik's remarks that "tariffs of up to 100% may be imposed on Korean semiconductor manufacturers that do not invest in the United States."

According to Bloomberg, the forum will be attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of Commerce Rutnik, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Representative Jamieson Greer, and Special Envoy to President Trump Steve Witcoff.

Furthermore, U.S. media outlet Newsmax reported that "U.S. President Donald Trump signed a declaration on the 14th (local time) imposing a 25% tariff on certain artificial intelligence chips, such as Nvidia's H200 AI processor and AMD's MI325X, to address the nation's security concerns related to semiconductor imports."

Additionally, the White House stated, "The tariffs will be narrowly applied and will not apply to chips and derivative devices imported for U.S. data centers (large consumers of AI chips)."

However, Secretary of Commerce Rutnik told Bloomberg on the 16th (local time) at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new factory of U.S. semiconductor company Micron in Syracuse, New York, "Companies that want to manufacture memory semiconductors have two options: pay a 100% tariff or produce in the United States."

Minister Yeo, who returned after completing his U.S. schedule, announced on the 17th, "The United States is focusing on advanced chips made by Nvidia and AMD. Since the memory chips primarily exported by Korean companies are currently excluded, the immediate impact is expected to be limited. However, we are not yet in a position to be reassured about the timing and method of a potential second-phase expansion."

This means that the U.S.'s "semiconductor decree" will have a limited impact on Korean companies.

However, Newsmax noted the White House fact sheet, which stated, "The United States may impose broader tariffs on imports of semiconductors and their derivative products in the near future to encourage domestic manufacturing."

Given that Secretary of Commerce Rutnik has spoken of the possibility of imposing a 100% tariff on Korean semiconductor companies, the outcome of semiconductor agreements between the two countries remains uncertain.

Yonhap News reported, "It is expected that Minister Yeo will focus on minimizing the impact on Korean companies during the forum by contacting U.S. officials through official and unofficial channels, based on the principle of 'non-disadvantageous semiconductor tariffs' agreed upon in last year's South Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations."

However, some predict that the possibility of a meeting with Secretary Rutnik is not very high, as Minister Yeo's counterpart would be Representative Greer.

In response, a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official stated, "There is nothing to confirm at this time."

Reporter Im Yo-hee