Why a 'Father of Five' SK Hynix Employee Dreams of Studying in the US

Efforts in Childcare with Various Leave Systems and Flexible Work
Enrollment at University of San Diego through Degree Support Program

SK Hynix introduced a case of an employee with multiple children preparing to study abroad. The company stated that it supports childbirth and childcare leave, flexible working hours, and provides degree support programs to enhance employee capabilities in order to overcome low birth rates and achieve work-family balance.

On the 15th, SK Hynix released an interview with Kim Jin-pyo, Solution Development TL at SK Hynix, on its newsroom. Kim TL is an 8-year employee developing enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) technology. He was selected as an SK Hynix industry-academic scholarship student in 2013, completed his master's degree, and joined the company in 2016.

Kim TL is a father of five children, including a baby soon to be born. After the first child, triplets arrived, and he is expecting the fifth child in September.

Kim Jin-pyo, SK Hynix Solution Development TL (first from the top right), his wife Lee Hanna, and their children are taking a photo. / [Photo by SK Hynix Newsroom]

Since becoming a parent of multiple children, Kim TL has been striving to manage both work and childcare. Especially after the triplets were born, all childcare activities tripled, making it difficult, but with help from family and acquaintances, he was able to ease the challenges, he explained.

The childbirth leave and flexible working system supported by the company were also of great help. Although there were difficulties such as miscarriage and infertility during the child planning process, various related leave policies were in place within the company. In the case of multiple births, about four weeks of maternity leave was also possible.

When the triplets were born prematurely, he was able to adjust commuting hours through the flexible working system to manage hospital schedules. The flexible working system was also helpful when unexpected schedule changes occurred, including dropping off and picking up the children. He said, "Even today during this interview, I went to the triplets’ hospital appointment in the morning and came to work in the afternoon."

Of course, support from company members played a significant role in this process. Even if working hours differed from team members, communication was maintained through the work management system, allowing smooth progress of tasks. Thanks to team members’ consideration, he was also assigned tasks that could be carried out independently to achieve results.

The triplets of Jinpyo Kim, Solution Development TL /
[Photo by SK hynix Newsroom]

Kim TL is recently dreaming a new dream. He is preparing to study in the United States through the in-house Academic Degree Program (ADP). ADP is a master's and doctoral degree support program that allows employees to temporarily pause work and obtain degrees from prestigious domestic and international universities, providing support for housing and living expenses.

He worked hard to be selected for ADP by attending online TOEFL lectures early in the morning before work and studying English after putting his children to sleep after work. After the triplets were born, he devoted five months to childcare before resuming preparations for studying abroad. As a result, he was accepted into the Computer Science department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in April.

Kim TL said, "With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, the demand for AI infrastructure is increasing," and added, "I want to research AI infrastructure and data center architecture to develop next-generation memory solutions."

He continued, "I think raising five children in San Diego is a great opportunity for my wife and me," and added, "I want to become a good father here while faithfully completing my degree program and return to the company as a more developed researcher."