China-Targeted Tariffs Set to Strike South Korea's Export Engine

China may be the world’s factory floor, but South Korea is the top supplier of the semiconductors that go into our laptops and cars and whatever else needs one. Now, the link between them is set to cause South Korea some pain.

A global boom in demand for semiconductors has driven recent growth in Asia’s exports. But the chip sector’s outsize role in South Korea’s exports and economic growth can cut both ways, leaving the country among the most exposed to U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.