Kyung Gye-hyun "People Are Most Needed"... Semiconductor Industry Labor Shortage Surfaces (Comprehensive)

President Kyung Gye-hyun Visits Seoul National University to Meet Future Talent
Semiconductor Market Expansion Intensifies Global Workforce Shortage

TSMC Faces Workforce Concerns in Germany Following the US
Samsung Electronics Secures Local Talent Through Investment in University of Texas

The semiconductor labor shortage has become a reality, triggering an emergency in securing talent within the industry. Samsung Electronics' president is personally visiting universities to engage with students in order to secure future semiconductor talent. This reflects the company's determination not to follow in the footsteps of Taiwan's foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company TSMC, which is facing delays in factory operations in Germany after experiencing similar issues in the United States due to manpower shortages.

Kyung Kye-hyun, President of the Device Solutions (DS) Division, is giving a lecture titled "Samsung Semiconductor of Dreams and Happiness: A Sustainable Future" at Seoul National University on the 5th. Provided by Samsung Electronics. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the 5th, Kyung Kye-hyun, President of Samsung Electronics' DS Division, visited Seoul National University to give a semiconductor lecture to students. Following lectures at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Yonsei University, which have semiconductor contract departments, in May and June, he visited his alma mater, Seoul National University, a specialized semiconductor university. This was to meet students directly amid the critical situation of securing semiconductor talent.

President Kyung stated that Samsung Electronics' foundry business has great growth potential. He highlighted that the company was the first in the industry to adopt the next-generation transistor technology "Gate-All-Around (GAA)" in advanced processes, which is a core technology, as the source of its competitiveness. He expressed confidence, saying, "Since Samsung Electronics is the creator of GAA, those here will be able to see us surpass our competitor (TSMC)."

He also emphasized the importance of people. President Kyung admitted that while Samsung Electronics needs to grow its foundry business to become a company worth 1,000 trillion won, it faces difficulties in securing manpower. He said, "We need to create conditions to properly implement GAA technology," adding, "Although we have been developing the technology for over 20 years and are doing well now, there are limits to finding people." He also stated, "For the company to be sustainable, people are the most necessary," and "We are investing heavily in manpower."

Although the semiconductor market is rapidly expanding, the supply of manpower is not keeping pace. The semiconductor industry frequently appeals that "expanding high-level talent at the master's and doctoral levels is the most urgent." The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association warned that while the domestic semiconductor workforce, which was 179,000 in 2021, is expected to increase to 304,000 by 2031, a shortage of 30,000 to 50,000 workers may occur.

This issue is not limited to Korea. As major countries worldwide?including the United States, Taiwan, Japan, China, and the European Union (EU)?expand their semiconductor industries, the labor shortage is intensifying. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) of the United States predicted in a July report that by 2030, 67,000 semiconductor jobs in the U.S. will remain unfilled.

TSMC is experiencing difficulties in advancing its global business due to this. The shortage of semiconductor workers in the U.S. delayed the operation of its Arizona plant, originally targeted for 2024, by one year. There are concerns that similar problems may arise at the Dresden plant in Germany, which is planned to be built with an investment of 3.5 billion euros. The UK Financial Times recently warned that TSMC's entry into Germany could further exacerbate the local semiconductor labor shortage.

In contrast, Samsung Electronics plans to complete the foundry plant it is building in Taylor, Texas, within this year as originally planned. To address the local labor shortage, it has decided to invest $3.7 million in the University of Texas, a hub for semiconductor business in the U.S. This includes donations to the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and providing scholarships. Koo Bon-young, head of Samsung Electronics' Austin office, explained the investment background, saying, "Securing a large number of skilled workers is the most important thing for us."

SK Hynix has taken steps to support Korea University's semiconductor engineering department, which is a contract department of the company, to nurture global talent. Starting next year, when students in the department become sophomores, they will be able to take major courses for a certain period at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), one of the California State Universities. In the future, they plan to increase student exchanges and international cooperation in semiconductor research between Korea University and UC Davis.