Increased Productivity

About a fifth of South Korea's total exports are semiconductors, which have been booming in recent years and have helped drive the country's economic growth. But things are looking less certain for the industry in the new year. Analysts expect the prices of DRAM and NAND flash chips, which are used to store data in our phones, computers, and TVs, will keep falling, Jesse Yung reports. Industry insiders on Thursday said home prices are likely to fall in the coming months. The global semiconductor industry began to suffer from sluggish growth from the end of last year, according to a report by market research firm Dynamics Change. Oversupply, shrinking demand and a gloomy economic outlook are factors behind this price fall. The report said if the current lack of demand continues to erode, prices will see a downward trend throughout 2019. It also projected a fall in NAND flash prices due to shrinking demand. The average price of eight gigabyte DRAMs, the most widely used units last month.