Samsung CTO Song Jaehyuk: "Semiconductor Innovation Emerges from Cross-Boundary Collaboration"

SEDEX 2025 Opens at COEX on the 22nd
Keynote Speech on "Semiconductor Innovation through Synergy"
Samsung, the Only Company Excelling in Both Memory and Non-Memory Semiconductors
"Once Worried About the Burden, Now Confident in Synergy"

Song Jaehyuk, President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Samsung Electronics, stated on the 22nd at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, during the "Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX) 2025," the largest semiconductor exhibition in Korea, "There is hope that by applying collaboration that crosses various boundaries to semiconductors, we can develop high-quality production technologies."

Song Jae-hyuk, President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Samsung Electronics, is delivering a keynote speech on the theme of "Semiconductor Innovation through Synergy" at the "Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX) 2025" held on the 22nd at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On this day, CTO Song took the stage as a speaker at the commemorative event and delivered a keynote speech on the theme of "Semiconductor Innovation through Synergy," where he made these remarks.

CTO Song cited examples such as the innovation of metal type, which was achieved through the combination of linguistics, casting, and mechanical fields, and emphasized, "Looking at cases where innovation was achieved through cross-disciplinary collaboration, I believe that semiconductors, too, can produce technology through collaboration."

He continued, "There were times when I thought that Samsung, being the only company in the world with DRAM, NAND, system semiconductors, and packaging, might be carrying too much burden," but added, "I believe that a company with diverse areas of expertise can generate even better synergy." He analyzed that, just as Moore's Law states that the performance of integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years, the evolution of semiconductor technology is not confined to a single technology, but rather, advancements in DRAM, NAND, system semiconductors, and packaging are achieved by crossing boundaries.

CTO Song explained, "Semiconductor technology is advancing from planar structures to vertical, bonding, and stacking methods," and added, "The direction to supply the performance and unit area that customers want remains consistent."

He further evaluated, "NAND development engineers can move to system semiconductors, and system semiconductor personnel can discuss packaging, creating technological synergy," and "Rather than needing three separate teams for NAND, DRAM, and system semiconductors, we are now seeing the combination of knowledge that allows for efficient operation with one and a half teams, or even a single team."

Song Jaehyuk, President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Samsung Electronics (second from the right in the front row), is examining the HBM display at the company's booth during 'Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX) 2025,' the largest semiconductor exhibition in Korea, held on the 22nd at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyungmin

CTO Song also mentioned that semiconductor collaboration is expanding beyond physics to earth science, biology, and other fields, saying, "Perhaps the time has come for Samsung Semiconductors to hire earthquake experts and begin work in that area."

He emphasized, "Through innovation via collaboration, we can develop technologies to produce high-quality semiconductors that meet customer demand," and added, "We want to develop technology together with companies and academia across various fields such as materials, equipment, and test packaging, as well as with the broader industrial sector."

After his keynote speech, CTO Song toured the booths of Korean semiconductor companies set up at the COEX exhibition hall, experiencing a variety of technologies firsthand. He also visited the SK Hynix booth, where he listened to explanations about the HBM4 12-layer product, a competitor to Samsung's own offerings. Finally, he toured the Samsung Electronics booth to observe the latest advancements in the company's technology.

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