Samsung to Invest 450 Trillion Won and Hire 80,000 New Employees Over the Next 5 Years (Update)

Focus on Investment and Hiring in Semiconductors, Bio, and New Growth IT

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Samsung will invest 450 trillion KRW and create 80,000 new jobs over the next five years.

On the 24th, Samsung announced through its "Future Preparation for Dynamic Innovation Growth" presentation that it plans to invest 450 trillion KRW over the next five years. This represents an increase of 120 trillion KRW (more than 30%) compared to the past five years, with 80% of the total investment expected to take place domestically. The scale of domestic investment is set to increase by 110 trillion KRW (more than 40%) compared to the previous five years.

Samsung plans to focus its investments over the next five years on future growth sectors such as semiconductors, bio, and new growth IT. It identifies ▲fabless system semiconductors ▲foundry ▲bio sectors as future growth industries expected to rapidly expand in market size in the post-COVID-19 era. Additionally, new growth IT is viewed as a field where enterprises and industrial ecosystems can create enormous added value through mutual interaction.

If Samsung’s foundry business grows to become the world’s number one, it could generate an economic effect similar to the creation of a company larger than Samsung Electronics within the country. However, as countries around the world recognize the importance of the semiconductor and bio industries and move to make them strategic industries, competition and challenges are intensifying. In the memory sector, the U.S. and China are increasing checks and pursuits, while competitors are actively investing in fabless system semiconductors and foundry.

Bio has transformed into a national security industry after the COVID-19 pandemic but is still led by a few advanced countries and large pharmaceutical companies. From an economic security perspective, Samsung believes that maintaining semiconductor and bio supply chains domestically holds strategic significance beyond mere figures such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Samsung also announced plans to expand youth employment. It aims to hire 80,000 new employees over the next five years, focusing recruitment on core businesses such as semiconductors, bio, and new growth IT.

In addition to new hires, Samsung expects additional effects including 1.01 million jobs induced by investment and 60,000 jobs created through CSR and mutual growth initiatives. Following the overachievement of its "40,000 hires over three years" plan announced in 2018, Samsung also announced a plan last year to hire 40,000 employees over three years. Samsung stated that it plans to further expand hiring focused on core businesses such as semiconductors and bio, which are foundational technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, contributing to the creation of good jobs in the private sector.