Japan sanctions South Korea endangers supply chain, Samsung is seeking supplier diversity
According to the Korean Herald, industry insiders revealed on Sunday that during this economic retaliation in Japan, Samsung Electronics seems to be turning to domestic electronic component manufacturers, especially for its upcoming mobile devices .
The South Korean technology giant is believed to be the biggest victim of Japan's restrictions on exporting three key high-tech materials to South Korea: fluoropolyimide, photoresist, and hydrogen fluoride.
It is reported that Samsung is looking for a new supplier of colorless polyimide (CPI) film for Galaxy Fold smartphones, which is crucial for foldable display devices.
Samsung Display is the exclusive supplier of foldable organic light-emitting diode displays for Samsung mobile phones. Following instructions from Samsung ’s vice president Lee Jae-Soo, the company is considering additional measures to prevent the inability to purchase a sufficient number of CPI films from Sumitomo Japan. sheet.
Some industry observers have raised expectations that Samsung Display may partner with domestic manufacturers such as SKC.
Kolon completed construction of the CPI film plant last year and plans to begin mass production in the near future. The plant is capable of producing CPI films for 10 million foldable devices. Samsung chose Sumitomo over Kolon because of the Japanese company's material quality and technical strength.
As part of its long-term response to Japan's expansion of export restrictions, Samsung is also seeking to diversify suppliers of smartphone parts. Sources said that Samsung has selected LG Chem as one of its battery suppliers for the Galaxy Note 10 smartphone, which is scheduled to be available on August 7.
Samsung has been using its cell phone batteries, mainly produced by its subsidiary Samsung SDI and some foreign manufacturers including China New Energy Technology (ATL), to produce flagship models.
An industry source said: "This is the first time LG Chem has provided batteries for Samsung's flagship mobile phones." "Because in the worst case, battery materials such as separators may also be restricted by Japan, the new cooperation between Samsung and LG seems to be It's good for both groups. "