South Korea’s unprecedented semiconductor export boom risks distorting the broader economy if talent, capital and policy support become concentrated in the industry, Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in a September 2 interview at Seoul National University. The memory-chip surge, fueled by U.S. Big Tech’s artificial-intelligence race, has lifted profits at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix while pushing exports, growth and tax revenue above expectations. Nearly half of South Korea’s exports originate from semiconductors, while semiconductor-related manufacturing accounts for one-third of gross domestic product. Bown warned that a future contraction in chip demand could damage the economy if automobiles, steel and other sectors are weakened by labor shortages and underinvestment. He also said intensifying U.S.-China trade tensions reflect a bipartisan strategic shift rather than merely Donald Trump’s behavior, leaving South Korea’s strategy of balancing security ties with the United States and economic ties with China increasingly difficult to sustain. Bown urged Seoul to reduce dependence on both powers through measures including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, while strengthening industries that can serve as alternatives to Chinese supply. Bown served as chief economist at the U.S. Department of State during the Joe Biden administration in 2024 and recently published How to Win a Trade War, whose original Korean title is Trump’s Order.