STORY: The U.S.-Israel war with Iran could disrupt supplies of key semiconductor manufacturing materials.
That was according to a South Korean lawmaker on Thursday.
South Korea's chip industry supplies around two-thirds of global memory chips.
Kim Young-bae said there is concern that a prolonged conflict will lead to higher energy costs and prices.
Adding that he'd met with executives from companies such as Samsung Electronics and trade groups.
He gave helium as one material that could face disruption.
Helium is essential for heat management during semiconductor production.
It is only produced in a handful of countries, with Qatar among the leading players in the industry.
The warnings come as chipmakers grapple with severe supply bottlenecks.
That's due to surging chip demand from AI data center operators that has tightened supplies to many other industries, including smartphones, laptops and cars.
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix said in a statement it has diverse supply chain for helium.
And that there is, quote, "almost no chance that the company will be affected."
Samsung declined to comment.
Taiwan's TSMC said in a statement that it did not anticipate any significant impact currently.
And will continue monitoring the situation closely.
