Helium prices have risen since the outbreak, increasing by more than 40 percent from 2020 to 2022.

Further price increases of 30 percent are expected this year for suppliers Linde, Air Products and Air Liquide, the sources said.

Helium is used as a coolant in wafer manufacturing and display panel production.

More than 60 percent of the helium used in Korea is consumed by chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix. Its rising price, combined with unfavorable exchange rates, has increased the cost of sourcing the gas for these two chipmakers.

The U.S. and Qatar account for more than 70 percent of global helium production, but many companies in the U.S. shut down operations during the outbreak.

South Korean companies had relied heavily on helium imports from the U.S. In 2020, South Korea imported 1,133 tons of the gas from the U.S., but that dropped to 680 tons in 2021 and 565 tons in 2022.

Russia, another producer of the gas, is now also reducing the production of the gas due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

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