South Korea, home to major memory chip suppliers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., ranked second in global chip sales last year, a report showed Wednesday, although it had extremely weak presence in the fabless segment.

Total integrated circuit (IC) sales from South Korea-based firms represented 21 percent of the global market in 2020, according to the latest McClean Report published by market researcher IC Insights.

The United States topped the ranking with a share of 55 percent, while Taiwan came in third with 7 percent.

The report, which did not include the foundry sector, showed South Korean companies held a 30 percent share of global integrated device manufacturer (IDM) sales, which was only behind the US with a 50 percent share.

IDM refers to a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and sells IC products. Companies like Samsung and SK hynix fall into this category.

However, South Korea-based firms had only a 1 percent share of the fabless segment of the worldwide IC market, according to the report.

A fabless firm designs and sells chips but outsources manufacturing of products.

The United States dominated the fabless sector with a 64 percent market share, followed by Taiwan with 18 percent and China with 15 percent. (Yonhap)