[Column] Hwang Chang-gyu, the 'Samsung Semiconductor Legend,' Warns of Japan

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"Not only Intel in the US, but Japan is also actively investing by building (semiconductor) fabs. Everyone is working hard, aren't they?"

Recently, at a university in the Seoul metropolitan area, former KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu, known as the 'Samsung Semiconductor Legend,' immediately brought up Japan when asked to evaluate the US Intel foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) business. He mentioned Japan's recent large-scale investments in semiconductors.

Japan is currently undertaking massive investment attraction efforts at the government level under the banner of semiconductor revival. Following Taiwan's TSMC completing its first plant in Kumamoto last month, the second plant will soon begin construction. The Japanese government is injecting subsidies totaling 1.2 trillion yen (approximately 10.8 trillion KRW), including 476 billion yen for the first plant.

Former Chairman Hwang's remarks seem to reflect his experience with Japan, which once built a semiconductor kingdom. After joining Samsung in 1983, he endured various hardships while traveling to Japan multiple times to obtain technical information. Subsequently, as a challenger, he engaged in a 20-year head-to-head battle with champion Japan. In 1992, when Samsung Electronics surpassed Japan to become the world's number one DRAM company, he was the director of Samsung's semiconductor research institute. In 2008, as Samsung Electronics' Chief Technology Officer, he played a 'chicken game' with Japan's Elpida (NEC + Hitachi + Mitsubishi).

Although he won the battle against Japan over three decades, he knows better than anyone the strength of Japanese semiconductors. Japan has solid materials, components, and equipment companies supporting its semiconductor business. Representative companies include Tokyo Electron (TEL), one of the world's big four equipment manufacturers, and top materials companies such as Shin-Etsu Chemical and Sumco (wafers). They are also building a sophisticated talent development system. With the addition of massive government investment, he senses that Japan's semiconductor instincts are gradually being revived.

Therefore, his mention of 'Japan' is hard to overlook. While we are creating specialized complexes worth about 480 trillion KRW (Samsung Electronics 360 trillion KRW, SK Hynix 122 trillion KRW) in Gyeonggi-do's Yongin and Pyeongtaek, we are evaluated as falling behind in the speed race.

Former Chairman Hwang said about semiconductors in the artificial intelligence (AI) era, "It is already too late to give advice." This was interpreted to mean that it is not appropriate to discuss the future based on past experiences. However, his remarks about Japanese semiconductors seem worth considering.

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