Samsung Electronics' Kyung Kye-hyun: "You Will See Us Surpass TSMC"

Emphasizing Foundry Business Competitiveness Through Seoul National University Lecture

Kyung Kye-hyun, President of Samsung Electronics' DS Division, expressed confidence in the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) competition with Taiwan's TSMC. Regarding the U.S. business, he emphasized, "Samsung Electronics is playing a home game, while the competitor (TSMC) is playing an away game," and expressed optimism for future business growth by stating, "Since we are the creators of GAA (Gate-All-Around, next-generation transistor technology), you will see us ahead of the competition."

On the afternoon of the 5th, President Kyung visited Seoul National University to give a lecture titled "Samsung Semiconductor of Dreams and Happiness: A Sustainable Future." Following lectures at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Yonsei University, both of which have semiconductor contract departments, in May and June, he visited his alma mater, Seoul National University, a semiconductor-specialized university, to meet students who will become future semiconductor talents.

Kyung Kye-hyun, President of Samsung Electronics DS Division, giving a lecture at Seoul National University on the afternoon of the 5th /
[Photo by Samsung Electronics]

During the lecture, President Kyung continued to express confidence in the foundry business. He mentioned that he visited the Taylor plant in Texas, which is under construction with a goal to be completed within the year, during a business trip to the U.S. in July, stating, "By the end of next year, we will be producing 4-nanometer products there." He also proudly noted, "The competitor (TSMC) started building their plant in the U.S. before us but recently announced a delay," adding, "I felt the spirit of our employees."

He also stated that for Samsung Electronics, which leads the memory semiconductor market, to become a company valued at 1,000 trillion won, success in the foundry market is essential. He said, "We must properly execute GAA technology and create conditions to continuously perform well, not just for one year," and revealed the challenge of securing talent by saying, "We have been developing GAA technology for over 20 years and are good at it, but there are limits to recruiting people."

In the memory business, Samsung continues to develop technology to maintain its leading position. In DRAM, they are implementing 10-nanometer-class technology, and in NAND, they are raising the stacking level to 1,000 layers. They are also focusing on securing leading technology in the packaging field, which has recently become an important keyword in the semiconductor industry. President Kyung explained, "Since Moore's Law has ended, we must overcome this by creating packages with multi-chips," adding, "We are creating technologies that have never existed in the world through packaging."

Photo of Kyung Kye-hyun, President of Samsung Electronics DS Division, at the lecture venue / Photo by Samsung Electronics

As key keywords that will bring change to the semiconductor industry, he pointed out ▲Artificial Intelligence (AI) ▲Internet of Things (IoT) ▲Robots ▲Drones ▲Clean Tech. President Kyung said, "If the previous wave of revolution was computers and the internet, the next wave will be these technologies," and predicted, "Unlike past changes, the upcoming changes will come several times faster."

President Kyung also revealed his management philosophy by stating, "For a company to be sustainable, people are the most important," and "A company can endure when people work with dreams." He expressed his ambition, saying, "We will make it a company that realizes the future," and "We will make it a company where employees work happily."

To students who will become future semiconductor talents, he conveyed his hope by saying, "Within Samsung Electronics Semiconductor, Seoul National University graduates make up 50% of PhDs, 30% of master's degree holders, and 20% of bachelor's degree holders," and added, "It would be great if you come and work together with us."

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