According to foreign media reports, chip manufacturers including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in South Korea have stopped selling second-hand chip manufacturing equipment.

According to the Financial Times on Tuesday, chip manufacturers including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in South Korea have stopped selling second-hand chip manufacturing equipment due to concerns about violating US export restrictions on chip manufacturing and technology.

Several second-hand chip manufacturing equipment sellers were quoted as saying that Korean companies have been storing second-hand equipment in warehouses instead of in the secondary market.

A person close to a chip manufacturer said, "We are concerned that the 'device' may fall into the wrong hands, which could lead to us violating US export restrictions."

After implementing export restrictions in the United States, chip manufacturers began storing old equipment in 2022.

According to reports, Samsung and SK Hynix are the main sources of second-hand equipment supply, as the turnover speed of devices is fast as memory chip manufacturers rapidly update and iterate.

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Korean semiconductor companies typically package unused old equipment and sell it to distributors, who then auction it off. The biggest demand for second-hand chip manufacturing equipment comes from China, and most chip manufacturers focus on producing older generation chips for home appliances and automobiles.

A second-hand device seller in Japan has stated that chip manufacturing equipment no longer needed by South Korean smartphone and artificial intelligence (AI) system cutting-edge chip manufacturers can be refurbished and reinstalled in Chinese factories, typically used to produce less advanced chips outside of US regulations.

According to insiders, SK Hynix has recently started selling some chip equipment after running out of warehouse storage space. But the company still does not sell equipment made in the United States, including wafer grinders and etching machines.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both declined to comment.