The new head of Samsung Electronics Co’s semiconductor division urged employees to work their way past challenges in the business, making his first remarks to staff after the surprise departure of his predecessor last week.
Jun Young-hyun — a memory chip veteran who is returning to the company after leading Samsung SDI Co — unexpectedly replaced Kyung Kye-hyun as the new leader of its most important business line on Tuesday last week.
“I am confident that we can overcome the recent difficulties as quickly as possible if we continue to build on the strengths we have accumulated so far and continue the culture of communication and discussion that is unique to semiconductors,” Jun said on an internal site seen by Bloomberg News.
Photo: Jung Yeon-je, AFP
Jun would be facing a series of challenges. Its semiconductor division lost about 15 trillion won (US$10.9 billion) last year. The company has fallen behind rival SK Hynix Inc in high-bandwidth memory chips, which have seen explosive growth, as they are used for training artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT. The firm is also facing the first-ever strike in its 55-year history.
“Especially now, in the age of AI, we are facing a future that we have never experienced before,” he said. “This poses a great challenge to us, but if we respond with the right direction, it can be a new opportunity for the semiconductor business, which is essential in the AI era.”
Investors have become increasingly concerned about Samsung’s response to SK Hynix, which reported its fastest pace of revenue growth since 2010. That has propelled about 40 percent rally in SK Hynix shares since the start of this year, compared with a slump of about 5 percent for Samsung’s.
In other news, India would have to attract a wider range of semiconductor suppliers to succeed in building a robust domestic chip industry, trade group SEMI president and CEO Ajit Manocha said.
“They need to really increase the emphasis on the ecosystem because, without an ecosystem, growth will be limited,” Manocha said on the sidelines of the India-Taiwan Semiconductor Forum in Taipei on Thursday. “They need to encourage smaller and medium-sized companies to come and set up shop in India.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up a US$10 billion fund to help attract global chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電).
Manocha said that if Modi wins a third term, the country is very likely to expand the program beyond US$10 billion to help create a comprehensive ecosystem.
However, no major semiconductor firms have committed to significant investments in India so far, partly due to challenges with infrastructure, including a stable power supply.
The two most high-profile projects are a US$11 billion site by the Tata Group in partnership with Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) to make mature chips, and a US$2.75 billion assembly and testing facility by Micron Technology Inc.
India is on the right track, Manocha said, adding that the Tata and Micron projects can act as catalysts for the country’s plans to build a technology foundation in the country.
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