South Korea's Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) has released a new report indicating that China's semiconductor technology has rapidly caught up with—and in several areas overtaken—South Korea. According to the study, China now ranks second globally in semiconductor technology, trailing only the United States.

The report notes that China leads South Korea in nearly all key domains, including memory chips and advanced packaging. For example, in high-density resistive memory, China scored 94.1% versus Korea's 90.9%, while in AI chips, China registered 88.3% compared with Korea's 84.1%. The findings highlight how quickly China has narrowed the technology gap with its East Asian rival.

This marks a significant shift from KISTEP's 2022 assessment, which concluded that Korea was still ahead of China in both memory and advanced packaging, ranking second globally behind the U.S.

Industry analysts, however, caution that Korea retains a clear edge in memory semiconductors. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix continue to dominate DRAM, NAND, and HBM production with superior technology, capacity, and decades of R&D experience. Samsung has also achieved 3nm chip production and plans to begin 2nm mass production later this year, while its advanced packaging capabilities remain world-class.

Still, the report warns that China's rapid progress poses a serious long-term challenge. As Chinese semiconductor firms expand aggressively, Korea's dominance may erode, potentially reshaping the global semiconductor landscape.