The Hormuz crisis exposed the "AI electricity dependence trap" in Taiwan and South Korea, revealing an AI energy crisis.

According to a report by TechinAsia on May 16th, as reported by Mars Finance, the Strait of Hormuz crisis is having spillover effects on the global AI industry chain, exposing the systemic vulnerabilities of Taiwan and South Korea in their energy structures. As core hubs for advanced semiconductor manufacturing globally, Taiwan and South Korea are heavily reliant on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fossil fuel power generation in the AI era. Recent geopolitical shocks to their energy supply chains have amplified this dependence into a "strategic risk." Both Taiwan and South Korea are key production centers for global AI chips and memory chips, but their power systems are highly dependent on imported energy. This means that when energy prices fluctuate or supply is limited, data centers and wafer fabs face rising costs and pressure on power supply stability, thus affecting the stability of the global AI computing power supply chain. Commentators point out that with the rapid growth in AI demand, energy has become one of the core bottlenecks restricting the expansion of computing power, and the current Strait of Hormuz crisis further reinforces the trend that "AI competition is not only a competition of computing power, but also a competition of energy and infrastructure."