SK Hynix Promotes Presidents Kwak Nojeong and Noh Jongwon... Bold Appointment of MZ Generation (Comprehensive)

New President Kwak Oversees Safety Manufacturing Development... 'Strategist' President Noh, Youngest in His 40s
30s and Production Executives Also Appointed... New Organization Established for Global Competitiveness

On the 2nd, SK Hynix announced that Kwak No-jeong, Vice President of Manufacturing and Technology (left), and Noh Jong-won, Vice President of Future Strategy, will be promoted to President.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hye-young] SK Hynix has simultaneously appointed two new presidents, signaling the official start of its 'second leap.' SK Hynix made a surprise appointment of Kwak No-jeong, Vice President in charge of Manufacturing and Technology (56), and Noh Jong-won, Vice President in charge of Management Support (46), as presidents. Following the appointment of new presidents in their 40s, the company clearly emphasized its policy of generational change and performance-oriented personnel by appointing a 1982-born MZ generation vice president and its first executive from the production line. SK Hynix also aims to strengthen its North American organization to secure global competitiveness through organizational restructuring and established a task force (TF) to improve corporate culture.

Appointment of Presidents Kwak No-jeong and Noh Jong-won... 'Five-Presidents System'

On the 2nd, SK Hynix announced through a board report its '2022 Organizational Restructuring and Executive Personnel Changes,' stating that it will establish 'Safety Development and Manufacturing Headquarters' and 'Business Headquarters' under the CEO. Newly appointed President Kwak No-jeong will take charge of the Safety Development and Manufacturing Headquarters, while President Noh Jong-won will lead the Business Headquarters, which drives global business and future growth strategy and execution.

President Kwak was born in 1965 and graduated from Korea University with a degree in Materials Engineering, earning his master's and doctoral degrees from the same university. He joined Hyundai Electronics, the predecessor of SK Hynix, in 1994 and has experience in both R&D and production sites. He stood out while leading research on fine process development and has been regarded as the 'post Lee Seok-hee' since 2015 when he took charge of manufacturing sites. After SK Group acquired Hynix in 2012, Kwak was promoted to executive director and in 2019 became Vice President in charge of Manufacturing and Technology, overseeing development and manufacturing. With this appointment, he has been promoted to president just two years after becoming vice president and will lead the Safety Development and Manufacturing Headquarters.

President Noh was born in 1975 and graduated from the Department of Physics at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), followed by a master's degree in Technology Policy from Seoul National University. He joined SK Telecom in 2003 and has been active as a 'strategy and planning expert,' successfully executing major mergers and acquisitions (M&A) alongside SK Hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho. Noh played a key role in SK Group's acquisition of Hynix, investment in Toshiba Memory, and acquisition of ADT Caps (now SK Shieldus). He moved to SK Hynix in 2018 and last year led the acquisition of Intel's NAND business worth 10 trillion won and investment in MagnaChip Semiconductor's foundry division. Noh also shares the title of 'youngest president ever' established after Chairman Chey Tae-won's inauguration with Choo Hyung-wook, who was promoted to president of SK E&S last year.

With this personnel change, SK Hynix now has a total of five presidents, including Vice Chairman and CEO Park Jung-ho, President and CEO Lee Seok-hee, President Kwak, President Noh, President Jin Gyo-won, and President Kim Dong-seop.

Bold Appointment of MZ Generation and Production Line Executives... Full Effort to Strengthen Global Capabilities

Along with the promotion of two presidents, SK Hynix appointed 29 new vice presidents in the promotion announcement made that day. SK Hynix standardizes the executive ranks below president as vice presidents.

For the first time, SK Hynix appointed executives born in the 1980s, reinforcing the cultivation of next-generation leaders and generational change. Lee Jae-seo, selected as an outstanding leader, has worked on future strategy-related tasks at SK Hynix and was appointed as an executive in charge of strategic planning this time.

Continuing from last year, SK Hynix also appointed female executives this year. Shin Seung-ah, born in 1977, was newly appointed as an executive and will be in charge of the Future Technology Research Institute's Analysis Technology (AT). The company also appointed its first-ever executive from the full-time production line. Son Soo-yong, born in 1970 and responsible for DRAM development infrastructure, was abruptly promoted to executive.

SK Hynix established a North American business organization and formed a task force to improve corporate culture. The newly established North American business organization will actively implement the 'Inside America' strategy, with CEO Lee Seok-hee concurrently serving as its head. An R&D organization will also be created within the North American division. Through the establishment of the North American organization, SK Hynix plans to strengthen the global competitiveness of its NAND business and build solid partnerships with global companies. The newly formed 'Corporate Culture Upgrade TF' will be led by President Kwak No-jeong. The TF will include top executives from each division who will communicate with members to create an organizational culture suitable for global companies.

Park Jung-ho, Vice Chairman of SK Hynix, commented on the personnel changes, saying, "As a world-class semiconductor technology company, we will create changes in the world together with global ICT companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.