On April 20, according to a report by the Korea Economic Daily, the severe shortage has caused the price of semiconductor chips to soar up to 30 times, and large companies are also in the dilemma of not being able to purchase enough chips. Samsung Electronics executives made an emergency business trip and flew to Taiwan, China. , Seek help from MediaTek, a supplier of panel driver ICs.

According to reports, industry insiders pointed out that the shortage of chips has plunged the Korean industry into chaos. The problem of chip shortages starting from automobiles has spread to the overall IT industry such as TVs, household appliances, PCs, and small electronic devices through smart phones. And the shortage has caused the price of some chip products to soar up to more than 30 times. For example, the price of a specific chip that was originally traded at 1 US dollar has soared to 32 US dollars. A person with a semiconductor company said, "The supply of silicon wafers as raw materials for chips is also in short supply, and it is difficult to predict when the chip chaos will be resolved."

The report pointed out that the MCU price required by South Korean surveillance company W was US$8 each last year, but it has now risen to US$50, which is a six-fold increase in price. A person with W company said that the inventory has bottomed out, and even if orders continue to be placed regardless of the price, the required quantity cannot be guaranteed.

The situation of large companies is also not optimistic. Samsung and LG were unable to successfully obtain panel driver IC (display driver IC, DDI), PMIC (power management chip) and other products, resulting in a reduction of more than 10-20% in the output of TVs and home appliances compared to the original plan. The severe shortage of chips also prompted Han Zongxi, the head of Samsung's video display division, who is coordinating the TV business, to decide on an urgent business trip. He took a flight to Taiwan, China last week to visit MediaTek, a DDI supplier, and asked MediaTek to provide stable supplies.

According to the analysis of the above report, the shortage of chips has become more and more serious recently, mainly because of the "inventory competition" among enterprises. TSMC pointed out that in order to ensure inventory, some companies doubled their orders, which is the main reason for the recent serious shortage.