“Highly valuable talents will never be poached” … Samsung·SK’s deadly battle for experienced semiconductor professionals

““We cannot let our talent be taken away.” Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are actively recruiting experienced professionals in the semiconductor field to attract talents. According to the industry on the 4th, Samsung Electronics department Device Solutions (DS) responsible for semiconductor business will be recruiting experienced personnel until the 9th. They have embarked on large-scale talent acquisition efforts for both the first and second half of this year.
In particular, this recruitment process is gaining attention as it is being conducted for the first time under the leadership of Chairman Jeon Yeong-hyun, who took office in the DS division in May. Former Chairman emphasized seizing the opportunities triggered by AI (artificial intelligence) in his inaugural address. He stated, “We are now in the AI era, and the future we have not experienced before is approaching us. This is a great challenge for us, but if we set the right direction and respond properly, it can be a new opportunity for the semiconductor business, which is essential in the AI era.”
The roles Samsung Electronics is recruiting for include the development and verification of next-generation DRAM solutions such as High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM), Compute Express Link (CXL) product development, semiconductor component development, yield analysis, and foundry product defect resolution, totaling over 800 positions.
SK hynix also released a large-scale recruitment notice for both entry-level and experienced employees on the same day. The overall recruitment scale reaches three digits. SK hynix plans to hire a large number of engineers for Cheongju M15X, where recent new investments have been announced, as well as for preparing the Advanced Packaging production base in the United States, including HBM design and Advanced Packaging in the AI memory semiconductor field. Especially, to enhance the competence in logic component technology, they are also recruiting experienced personnel in the FinFET field.
Usually, SK hynix conducts general recruitment in April for the first half of the year and in September for the second half of the year, but they have made an exceptional move by recruiting both entry-level and experienced employees in July. This is interpreted as a determination to actively attract outstanding talents to strengthen their position as a leading company in the HBM sector.
Samsung Electronics and SK hnix are actively competing to secure cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. They are striving to seize market dominance in preparation for the recovery period of the semiconductor industry, emphasizing each other’s technological superiority. This intense competition for semiconductor talent is driven by this background.
Evidence of a nerve war between the two companies is also visible. Earlier, SK hynix denied the rumor that Samsung talent had moved to SK hynix to develop HBM technology, calling it “groundless.” On June 27th, Park Myung-jae, Vice President in charge of HBM design at SK hynix, personally made this clear during an interview in their own newsroom. In the industry, it was seen as quite exceptional for a company to officially mention a competitor.
Vice President Park stated, “Not a single talent from a competitor has joined our HBM design organization. SK hynix’s HBM clearly belongs to our own technology, and our technological prowess is so great that false rumors have spread about it.” According to market research firm TrendForce, as of last year, SK hynix had a 53% market share in the HBM market worldwide, followed by Samsung Electronics at 38% and Micron from the United States at 9%.”