Is Taiwan's Economy Truly Leading South Korea Across the Board? Financial Expert Huang Shih-Tsung Highlights Samsung's 'Strategic Move' as Potential Threat to TSMC

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected in its latest 'World Economic Outlook' report that the gap in per capita GDP between Taiwan and South Korea will continue to widen. In the long-term trend, Taiwan's per capita GDP is expected to reach $56,101 by 2031, while South Korea's will stand at $46,019—creating a gap of about $10,000. Additionally, Taiwan's global ranking is forecast to rise from 32nd to 30th, while South Korea is expected to drop from 40th to 41st.

In response, financial expert Huang Shih-Tsung pointed out on the program 'Bao-Jie Dian-Bing' that although Taiwan's economy has overtaken South Korea, Samsung continues to generate strong profits and invest heavily in equipment, which could become a hidden concern for Taiwan. Huang noted that after being surpassed by Taiwan in areas such as baseball and economic performance, South Korea has begun to experience what is being called 'Taiwan anxiety.'

IMF data also shows that Taiwan's per capita GDP surpassed South Korea's two years ago, and by 2031, the gap could reach approximately $10,000. Huang emphasized that by 2031, Taiwan's per capita GDP will even exceed Japan's, with a projected difference of around $5,000.

Huang explained that Taiwan possesses a complete artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, whereas South Korea mainly produces high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), making it increasingly anxious. Moreover, with China's DRAM industry rising rapidly, South Korea fears being overtaken by Chinese competitors. 'They (South Korea) face a situation where they cannot catch up with Taiwan, while China is already right beside them,' Huang stated.

Huang highlighted that Samsung has recently earned substantial profits from HBM, enabling it to make aggressive investments—such as its recent procurement of over 20 ASML machines. He warned that if Samsung continues to reinvest its profits, it could become a formidable competitor to TSMC, potentially posing a long-term threat to Taiwan's semiconductor dominance.