[Han Industry Brain Talent Shortage] "No People"... K-Advanced Industry Talent Shortage 'Dark'

If the Corporate Olympics Were Held, Korea Would Rank 9th... Only One Medal from Samsung Electronics
Indicates Lack of Systems and Talent to Drive Advanced Industries

[Asia Economy Reporters Sunmi Park, Kiho Sung, Jinho Kim] An analysis shows that if the top 500 global companies competed in a "Corporate Olympics" instead of national athletes in the sports field, South Korea would rank only 9th with Samsung Electronics winning the sole silver medal. The fact that no other medals were secured besides Samsung Electronics indicates how severely lacking the systems and talent are to drive advanced industries. Especially, the United States and China, where semiconductor and IT companies fiercely compete, are attracting global talent with their immense capital and influence, and countries worldwide are rushing to nurture future talent. This poses a crisis for Korean companies, which suffer from an absurdly limited talent pool.

◆Corporate Olympics Reveal Talent Shortage as a Competitiveness Issue= On the 7th, the Federation of Korean Industries analyzed the competitiveness of countries based on industry classification and sales of the top 500 global companies. South Korea won only one silver medal in a technical category (Samsung Electronics) among 31 countries competing in 20 events. Overall, Korea ranked 9th. While the US and China won 122 and 135 medals respectively, accounting for 70.2% of all medals, Korea’s only medal was Samsung Electronics’ silver.

Among the 27 companies participating in the Corporate Olympics for the first time ever, US and Chinese companies accounted for 8 and 16 respectively, showing the dominance of the G2. Since LG Chem’s first participation in 2019, Korea has failed to discover new representative companies. This is attributed to high-level industrial regulations that slow down nurturing representative companies in advanced and new industries, as well as the slower pace of talent development compared to competing countries to drive new growth engines.

In Korea’s representative advanced industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) in the IT sector, securing talent is severely insufficient. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, to become a powerhouse in system semiconductors by 2030, the number of semiconductor industry technology personnel, which was about 36,000 in 2019, must increase to over 50,000 in ten years. The automotive industry faces a similarly severe IT labor shortage. Especially with the advent of the autonomous driving era based on AI, large-scale recruitment in related fields is urgent. According to the Software Policy Research Institute, the shortage of IT developers surged from 4,967 in 2020 to 9,453 last year and 14,514 this year. In this supply shortage, the concentration of talent in large IT companies like Naver and Kakao is causing even greater concern.

Professor Pilsoo Kim of Daelim University’s Department of Automotive Engineering said, "While a small number of talents are concentrated in large IT companies, the automotive industry requires more specialized and customized personnel in IT fields such as autonomous driving and AI, making talent supply difficult." He added, "Considering that Korea’s IT workforce expansion relative to automobile production lags about three years behind advanced countries, a mid- to long-term strategy is urgently needed."

◆No Clear Escape from K-Advanced Industry Talent Shortage= Unlike competing countries actively securing talent to lead advanced industries, Korea’s policies and systems are insufficient to fill the talent gap.

Although the Korean government has plans to expand semiconductor industry personnel, the reality is bleak due to a decline in high school seniors, strong restrictions under metropolitan area-related laws and higher education laws, making implementation unlikely. The only alternative is ‘contract departments’ established in partnership with some universities. This contrasts with Taiwan, where most universities have semiconductor departments; China, which is significantly expanding the number of universities specializing only in semiconductors; and Japan, which plans to establish semiconductor courses in eight technical colleges across six metropolitan areas as a base for producing semiconductor specialists.

Based on a broad talent pool, Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s number one foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer), plans to invest up to $44 billion (about 52.7 trillion KRW) in semiconductor facilities this year alone and aims to hire about 8,000 semiconductor personnel. Industry experts expect TSMC to consistently recruit 7,000 to 8,000 employees annually through 2025.

In contrast, Korea’s semiconductor industry faces limits in increasing numbers due to the scarcity of excellent talent. Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division (DS) increased its workforce by about 3,000 annually from 2016 to 2020, and SK Hynix added 6,700 employees over four years. Due to supply shortages, fierce competition to poach talent from existing pools is ongoing. This environment leads companies to bear the burden of high salaries and performance bonuses to retain talent. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) recently advised in a report that "urgent measures are needed to expand semiconductor R&D personnel, including establishing semiconductor graduate schools and comprehensive research institutes to secure technological capabilities."

Domestic conglomerates have started recruitment early this year to urgently secure talent. Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division has already begun hiring this first half of the year, recruiting experienced professionals in semiconductor process development, evaluation and analysis, material development, package development, and semiconductor equipment technology until the 17th of this month. SK Hynix, considering the semiconductor labor shortage, has advanced its recruitment schedule and plans to hire hundreds of new and experienced employees this month.

Hyundai Motor Company has been conducting R&D new graduate and experienced hiring since last month. Especially in the IT sector, the goal is triple-digit hiring across 53 detailed fields. They have also created a dedicated recruitment site targeting core future vehicle personnel.