As the AI era accelerates, South Korea’s competitive position is weakening relative to China. Even semiconductors, long a pillar of the Korean economy, are now assessed as being in a state of co-opetition rather than clear leadership.

After the US Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unconstitutional, President Donald Trump reacted sharply, invoking Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act to impose a 15% tariff on global imports. The move has once again cast a shadow of uncertainty over US trade policy.

Given the steady demand for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) chips, Unimicron stated that orders for IC substrates and PCBs have picked up. This has not only steadily increased capacity utilization rates, but the company has also negotiated with customers for ABF and BT substrates to gradually reflect rising raw material costs. These factors drove a marked improvement in operations in the fourth quarter of 2025, with single-quarter profits surpassing the combined total of the previous three quarters.