[Anchor]
There is a widespread assessment that the Democratic Party's victory in the U.S. midterm elections will likely have many unfavorable impacts on the South Korean economy, which is currently driven by semiconductors. The stock market already appears to be reflecting these repercussions. Reporter Choi Seung-hun examines the potential effects on our industries.
[Reporter]
Texas is projected to become the largest region, accounting for 30% of all electricity consumed by data centers across the United States by the year after next.
However, the newly elected Democratic governor has pledged to halt all data center construction immediately upon taking office.
[Gina Hinojosa / Governor-Elect of Texas : We will suspend all data center approvals until laws are in place to protect residents.]
This is because each data center consumes massive amounts of electricity—comparable to the usage of a small town—and persistent complaints have mounted that residents would end up sharing the costs of expanding power plants and transmission grids through their electricity bills.
[Cyrus Reed / Texas Environmental Activist (March) : Corporate lobbyists are pushing hard to ensure that companies do not pay their fair share.]
Similar movements are taking place across the United States.
Among the 36 candidates who have been elected governor or are leading the vote counts, 34 supported regulating data centers, and 12 pledged to halt construction altogether.
Analysis suggests that the construction of around 1,000 data centers could be suspended or delayed nationwide in the U.S.
If this happens, repercussions could hit not only Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which supply semiconductors to these facilities, but also other domestic companies providing electrical equipment and related infrastructure.
[Lee Joon / Director, Strategic Industries Research Center, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade : Supply and demand could loosen up somewhat. Prices would naturally drop, which would impact profitability. That is the scenario we are most concerned about.]
On the other hand, domestic automakers such as Hyundai Motor and Kia are placing their hopes on the revival of electric vehicle purchase subsidies, a movement spearheaded by Democratic lawmakers.
KOTRA forecasted that the power and shipbuilding sectors could also present opportunities for South Korea, given the strong bipartisan commitment from both Democrats and Republicans to foster these industries.
(Video Editing: Lee So-young, Design: Park Tae-young, Video Source: Climate Justice Alliance, X 'Gina Hinojosa')
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