A former senior U.S. official has called on South Korea to diversify its supply of specialty gases critical to the semiconductor industry, citing ongoing shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz as a key vulnerability.
The warning underscores growing concerns that prolonged instability in the vital waterway could disrupt the flow of essential materials to South Korea’s chipmakers, which rely heavily on imported inputs for production.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point for global energy and trade flows, with recent tensions raising the risk of further interruptions.
While a reopening deal was signed earlier this week as the U.S. lifted oil sanctions, the underlying fragility of the route continues to weigh on supply chain planning.
For South Korea, a nation that punches far above its weight in global semiconductor production, any sustained disruption to gas supplies could have immediate operational consequences.
Bloomberg has highlighted how the Hormuz crisis is exposing critical gaps in high-tech supply chains, particularly for industries dependent on just-in-time logistics.