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The high purity oxygen market in South Korea is witnessing positive growth due to the increasing demand from the end-users like the steel industry, metal fabrication, welding, healthcare, chemicals, paper, and so on. The high purity oxygen has various applications such as pharmaceuticals, waste-water treatment which is further amplifying the market growth.

Below are the factors driving the high purity oxygen market in South Korea.

Steel Industry Driving the Growth for High Purity Oxygen

The end-users demand high purity of oxygen for the various tasks and manufacturing activities that they do. The production of blast oxygen furnaces supports the steelworks in South Korea. Various companies are increasingly adopting similar production methods to bolster demand for high purity oxygen.

South Korea’s steel industry is the nation’s key industry with a high impact on the inter-industries. It plays a crucial role in the economic growth of South Korea by providing materials to the demanding industry such as automobiles, shipbuilding, and construction. According to the Korean Iron and Steel Industry, “The GDP of the steel industry is marking 1.5% of the entire industry and 4.9% of the manufacturing industry.”

Increasing Demand from Semiconductor Market

The growing demand for high purity oxygen from the semiconductor industry for the formation of silicon dioxide and metal oxide, as an etchant for photoresist, and in mixtures with hydrocarbons for etching silicon is projected to create lucrative avenues for suppliers in the South Korean high purity oxygen market space.

In May 2021, the South Korean government announced that it will spend $450 billion over the next nine years to take the lead in the global semiconductor market. This is a very big and aggressive move by South Korea to boost its semiconductor businesses. Samsung and SK Hynix are two of the major companies that are expected to drive the semiconductor industry forward, securing South Korea’s leading position in the global market.

The Emergence of Domestic Players

For sustaining high-profit margins in this competitive market, manufacturers in the South Korean high purity oxygen market are setting up widespread networks and conducting various research and development activities in order to emerge as the choice of supply method among suppliers and consumers. The market is experiencing a substantial amount of growth because of the emergence of new domestic players.

Some of the companies operating in the South Korean high purity oxygen market are Daesung group, Linde Korea, Deokyang, Sumitomo Seika, Showa Denko, and others are adopting business strategies such as sales contracts, strategic alliances, acquiring technical expertise, product approvals, patents and events, joint ventures, partnership agreements, collaborations, digital marketing, mergers and acquisitions, capacity utilisations, technological advancements, etc to lead the global market for high purity oxygen with largest market share.

For instance, Showa Denko increased its capacity for supplying high-purity nitrous oxide by cooperating with Dooam Industrial in South Korea. Both the corporations jointly constructed a purification facility within the premises of Dooam’s plant and announced that they will start full-scale operation of the new facility in March 2021.