Samsung President Lee Jeong-bae: "'Post-Corona' Semiconductor Paradigm Shift Begins"

Keynote Speech at SEDEX 2021... Emphasizing the Need for Semiconductor Industry Collaboration and Talent Development

Lee Jung-bae, President of Samsung Electronics and Chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (Head of Memory Business Division). (Photo by Samsung Electronics)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Lee Jung-bae, President of Samsung Electronics (Head of Memory Business Division) and Chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, stated that as the role of semiconductors continues to grow, a paradigm shift in semiconductors has already begun since the COVID-19 pandemic. He emphasized that to solve the current challenges, the semiconductor industry must cooperate and put significant effort into nurturing talent.

On the 26th, ahead of the 23rd Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX 2021), Lee delivered a keynote speech titled "Semiconductors, Drawing the Future Post-COVID," saying, "The beginning of realizing the future society lies in semiconductors."

Lee said, "With the prolonged global pandemic accelerating digital transformation, the convergence of various future technologies such as autonomous driving, human robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and the metaverse is making data flows more complex and increasing data volume explosively." He added that the semiconductor industry is also required to take on various challenges that surpass the existing pace of development to handle the surging data processing demands.

Lee introduced recent efforts by the semiconductor industry to overcome the limits of fine processes through process and material innovation and to maximize performance and power efficiency. In particular, he introduced next-generation memory subsystems currently being discussed, such as PIM, which adds AI processor functions to memory, and CXL-based DRAM, which can dramatically expand system memory capacity. He stated that the paradigm shift where memory semiconductors become the center of data processing, not just storage, has already begun.

He continued by emphasizing that to overcome the technical challenges faced by the semiconductor industry and move toward the future, a strong ecosystem must be created through close cooperation across all fields including materials, components, and equipment. "The semiconductor industry is a field where it is difficult for talent or a single company to succeed alone," he stressed. Lee said that significant investment and effort are also needed in workforce development and industry-academia cooperation, and that the government, companies, and academia must all work together to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem and maintain continuous attention until it becomes a virtuous cycle system.

Finally, Lee concluded his keynote by emphasizing that it is time for active attempts to develop low-power semiconductors and minimize greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon, from product manufacturing to disposal, for the future global environment.

SEDEX is the only semiconductor specialized exhibition in Korea that involves all sectors of the semiconductor industry ecosystem and will be held from the 27th to the 29th at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Participants at this event will exchange information on products and technologies requiring semiconductors, including memory and system semiconductors, as well as digital TVs, mobile devices, and other various fields.