China Openly Poaching Advanced Technology Talent... Shaking South Korea's Future

Job Posting for Experienced OLED Professionals in China
Serious Risk of Advanced Technology Leakage Abroad... "Government-Level Measures Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Ye-ju] Securing skilled personnel is as urgent a 'survival' issue for advanced technology companies as equipping production facilities. However, in industrial sectors leading the 4th Industrial Revolution era, such as display, semiconductors, and electric vehicle batteries, attempts by China to poach talent continue unabated. Experts point out that as the importance of protecting advanced technology in the era of economic security is emphasized more than ever, measures to prevent talent outflow must be devised not only at the corporate level but also at the government level.

◆ Emergency Signal for Korean Display Industry Amid China's Pursuit = According to industry sources on the 14th, a recent job posting on a recruitment site sought mid- to senior-level professionals in small OLED (organic light-emitting diode) development and process fields who are available to work in China. The hiring conditions included candidates with over five years of experience in comprehensive small display processes or over eight years in semiconductor CF processes. The headhunting company posting the job only mentioned that the client company was a Chinese panel manufacturer, but the industry suspects it to be BOE, China's top display company known for mass-producing small OLED panels supplied to Apple.

China's methods of poaching core OLED personnel and technology are evolving day by day. Initially, China contacted individuals discreetly through headhunting firms, but now openly recruits talent on public job sites. Their tactics also include information gathering via research firms and requests for materials under industry-academia cooperation. Recently, approaches using new platforms with servers overseas, such as LinkedIn, have increased, making detection even more difficult. In fact, it is understood that Korean engineers are significantly positioned in major Chinese display companies like BOE and CSOT. Industry insiders say that over 20% of employees are Korean.

Talent outflow leads to technology leakage. According to the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, from January 2016 to June last year, there were a total of 17 cases detected where major Korean display technologies were attempted to be smuggled overseas over five and a half years. Among these, five cases involved core technologies that have a huge impact on national security and the economy.

China's relentless offensive is also confirmed by market share. The phenomenon of the display market being overtaken by China has become a reality. According to market research firm Omdia, China recorded sales of $64.8 billion in the global display market last year, including LCD and OLED, capturing a 41.5% market share and overtaking Korea to take first place. Korea's market share was 33.2%, 8.3 percentage points lower. This is the first time in 17 years since 2004 that Korea has lost the top spot.

An industry official said, "Even if China uses the same equipment and materials as Korean companies to imitate, it is difficult to catch up with years of accumulated know-how," adding, "China is putting great effort into recruiting domestic talent by promising salaries two to three times higher to rapidly enhance its capabilities within a short period."

◆ Copying and Stealing... Shaking the Foundation of Future Manufacturing = Attempts by China to poach talent are intensifying not only in displays but also in advanced industrial sectors where Korea has strengths, such as electric vehicle batteries and semiconductors.

Last year, CATL, the world's number one battery company in China, conducted large-scale recruitment and offered Korean talent unprecedented conditions, with salaries three to four times their current pay. In particular, for employees at the department head level or above, they proposed an annual salary of about 300 million KRW after tax in Korean won. The semiconductor industry faces an even more serious situation. A former researcher at Semes, a Samsung Electronics subsidiary, who stole semiconductor cleaning equipment technology developed by Semes and sold it to Chinese companies, receiving hundreds of millions of won, was recently sentenced to one year and six months in prison. Last year, groups that transferred Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix technologies to Chinese competitors were also caught and detained one after another.

With no resources or market size to rely on, Korea must also worry about the massive outflow of talented personnel who possess competitiveness. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT's report on "The Domestic and Overseas Inflow and Outflow Status of Science and Engineering Personnel," since 2010, the inflow of science and engineering personnel into Korea has stagnated at around 4,000 annually. In contrast, the outflow reaches about 40,000 per year. The serious trend of talent outflow is also confirmed by the Swiss International Institute for Management Development (IMD) survey. According to IMD's "Brain Drain Index" last year, Korea scored 4 points, ranking 43rd out of 64 major countries. The Brain Drain Index means that the closer to 10 points, the more talent is employed domestically, and the closer to 0 points, the more talent has left overseas. Compared to major countries such as the U.S. (6.4 points, 6th), Germany (6.6 points, 9th), and Japan (5.2 points, 27th), Korea's talent outflow is at a severe level.

Experts predict that as economic security is emphasized, various methods of stealing advanced technology will become rampant. They stressed that policies to strengthen human capabilities are most necessary for sustainable technology security. Moon Sam-seop, Director of the Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, "An effective technology leakage prevention system can be established only when the three elements of preventive measures, effective response to leakage, and infrastructure for recurrence prevention are evenly equipped," adding, "No matter how well security systems are established, vulnerabilities inevitably exist." He continued, "The most important thing is the awareness of employees," emphasizing, "Security awareness must be fostered through a fair compensation system, security education, and strict punishment."

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