S. Korean lawmaker criticizes US chip policies for damaging ties with allies

SEOUL - A South Korean lawmaker strongly criticized US semiconductor policies toward China as the legislations risked damaging relations with its Asian allies, including South Korea.

Yang Hyang-ja, a former member of the main opposition Democratic Party who launched her party "Hope of Korea" in June, said that the US measures to curb China's ability to access or produce advanced chips risked damaging relations with its Asian allies.

"If (Washington) continues to try to punish other nations and to pass bills and implement 'America First' policies in an unpredictable manner, other countries could form an alliance against the US," She said in an interview with the Financial Times over the weekend.

Yang, a former chip engineer and executive of Samsung Electronics, said that the US appearing to use its strength as a weapon was not desirable, urging Washington to consider more of humanity's common values.

The United States has enacted a set of legislations to provide subsidies to chipmakers in exchange for the relocation of their manufacturing facilities to the US mainland and restrictions on the expansion of facilities in China.

Samsung's operating profit dropped 95.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, after diving 95.5 percent in the previous quarter.

The operating loss of Samsung's chip-making unit reached almost 9 trillion won (6.85 billion US dollars) for the first six months of this year.

"The more the US sanctions China, the harder China will try to make rapid technological progress. China will provide more national support for the goal," Yang was quoted as saying.

"The US should abandon its current approach of trying to get something out of shaking and breaking the global value chain," the lawmaker said.