Yoon's visit to the Netherlands aimed at shoring up "chip alliance"

South Korean chipmakers need ASML's machinery.

Korean President Yoon Seok-youl is visiting the Netherlands and promoting the chip industry. The Netherlands is home to ASML, one of the leading producers of photolithography machines, which are used to produce chips. Korean companies like Samsung and SK Hynix are big users of ASML technology.

As of 2021, South Korea accounts for 1.53% of the Netherlands’ exports, the third-largest share in Asia, behind China (2.53%), and Taiwan (1.73%). European countries, led by Germany (20.1%), are the Netherlands’ largest export destinations. But when it comes to the export of machinery with individual functions (HS4 ID: 8479), South Korea and Asia make up a much larger share of the Netherlands’ exports.

See the Netherlands’ profile at the Observatory of Economic Complexity.

Taiwan accounts for 20.3% of the Netherlands’ high-tech machinery in that category, and South Korea does 12.7%, while China is the third-largest Asian country (6.23%), and the U.S. is also a major player, importing 17.3% of its machinery with individual functions.

Yoon and the Netherlands’ PM Mark Rutte are expected to announce the terms of a “chip alliance.” ASML and Samsung agreed on a deal to invest $762 million into a Korean research lab.