[Exclusive] 'Hwang's Law' Hwang Chang-gyu: "Samsung and SK's AI Semiconductors Can Surpass TSMC"

Hwang Chang-gyu, former KT chairman famous for the "Hwang's Law," gave a positive evaluation of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix's response to artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, stating that "Taiwan's TSMC is not an insurmountable mountain." Although U.S. Intel recently announced plans to strengthen its foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) capabilities and is surpassing Samsung Electronics' advanced processes, he also said, "At this time, everyone is working hard."

On the 6th, Hwang met with reporters at Dankook University in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and said, "I think the two companies (Samsung and SK) are doing well in AI semiconductors." While setting the premise that "for me, who is retired, it is already too late to give advice," he gave high marks to the AI semiconductor capabilities of the two companies. He highly praised their fierce competition by introducing high value-added AI semiconductor innovative products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

Former KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

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Hwang visited Dankook University for the keynote speech on the first day of the university's "Executive MBA Program." He is famous for "Hwang's Law," which states that semiconductor memory capacity doubles every year. He led Samsung Electronics' semiconductor innovation in the 1990s and 2000s.

Hwang was optimistic about Samsung Electronics' foundry competitiveness. According to market research firm TrendForce, as of the third quarter of last year, TSMC held a 57.9% share of the foundry market, while Samsung Electronics had 12.4%, showing a significant gap. However, he said, "If Samsung Electronics works hard and does well in foundry, I don't think TSMC is an insurmountable mountain."

The optimism that Samsung can beat TSMC seems to be based on Samsung's advanced technology. Samsung Electronics was the first in the world to apply gate-all-around (GAA) technology in 2022, ahead of TSMC. When asked, "How do you view Samsung leading in GAA process?" he replied, "That's an old story," implying that since it has already been applied commercially, the evaluation is meaningless. In an interview with a media outlet last year, he said, "We could have an advantage using GAA at 2nm." Samsung Electronics, TSMC, and Intel are all expected to have 2nm mass production systems next year. TSMC is still using the FinFET process, which is lower than GAA.

On the afternoon of the 6th, the 'CEO Program' was held at Dankook University in Yongin. Former Chairman Hwang delivered a 90-minute keynote speech.
[Photo by Moon Chae-seok]

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However, Hwang appeared to be paying attention to Japan's semiconductor fab construction. In response to a reporter's question about "Intel recently announcing it will operate the 1.8nm process from the end of this year," he mentioned Japanese semiconductors. He said, "Intel and Japan are actively investing, such as building fabs (factories) of TSMC," and added, "All these companies will surely work hard with their lives on the line." This indicates that semiconductor companies have entered an era of infinite competition, fiercely battling in the foundry sector.

On the same day, Hwang gave a keynote speech titled "The Fourth Industrial Revolution ? Where Does Innovation Begin?" He shared that thanks to his experience mass-producing highly integrated large-capacity memory semiconductors at Samsung Electronics, which created the memory super-gap myth, he was able to develop innovative products such as communication devices and the AI speaker "Giga Genie" at KT. He included several episodes about the attitude of leaders listening to consumer complaints during the process. The lecture lasted 90 minutes, 10 minutes longer than scheduled.

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