[Semiconductor Talent 'Each Country for Itself']③ Samsung and SK Job Guarantees Are Useless... Semiconductor Departments Being Ignored

Difficulty Securing Talent Despite Free Tuition and Overseas Training Benefits in Medical School Preference
Yonsei and Korea University Semiconductor Departments Have Higher Non-Enrollment Rates Than Overall
Even Secured Semiconductor Talent Faces Indiscriminate Poaching by Foreign Companies
Government's Plan to Train 30,000 Talents Lacks Concrete Measures, Only Empty Slogans

Domestic semiconductor companies are supporting semiconductor contract departments at major universities by offering benefits such as free tuition, employment linkage, and overseas training. However, it is difficult to secure talent due to science students' preference for medical schools, and even when talent is secured, they face a double burden as overseas companies, especially in China, indiscriminately poach personnel. There is a growing need for the government to manage the entire cycle from talent development to preventing outflow, not just the companies.

Samsung and SK Employment Guarantees Are Useless

According to Jongno Academy on the 24th, the non-registration rate for Yonsei University's Department of System Semiconductor Engineering in this year's early admission was 72.9%. Although this is a significant decrease from last year's non-registration rate (180.0%), it was still higher than the average non-registration rate (64.6%) for all departments at the university. The non-registration rate for Korea University's Department of Semiconductor Engineering was 95.0%. This also improved compared to last year (120.0%) but was higher than Korea University's average non-registration rate (88.9%).

A high non-registration rate means that a large number of initially accepted students dropped out. A rate exceeding 100% indicates that even among the first round of additional accepted students, some dropped out, requiring second or further rounds of additional acceptances to fill the spots. Despite these departments guaranteeing employment at the country's top conglomerates after graduation, about 80% of students gave up registration.

These departments are contract departments with employment conditions. Yonsei University has contracts with Samsung Electronics, and Korea University with SK Hynix. Additionally, Samsung Electronics has contract department agreements with Sungkyunkwan University, KAIST, POSTECH, UNIST, DGIST, and GIST, while SK Hynix has agreements with Sogang University and Hanyang University. The reality is that it is difficult to secure even bachelor's degree candidates, let alone highly educated master's or doctoral candidates.

The newly established Department of Advanced Convergence at Seoul National University, created under the government's advanced field development policy, also had a 14.1% non-registration rate. This department offers overseas internship programs with American big tech companies like Amazon and Meta but still failed to retain students.

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, explained, "Previously, among the six applications allowed in early admission, a student might apply to both medical schools and advanced field departments, but this year, it is estimated that many students submitted all six applications to medical schools."

According to the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, 304,000 semiconductor personnel will be needed by 2031, but the actual supply is expected to fall short by about 54,000. According to the industrial technology manpower supply and demand survey announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at the end of last year, the shortage of technical personnel in the domestic semiconductor industry has increased annually over the past five years: 1,579 in 2019, 1,621 in 2020, and 1,752 in 2021.

South Korean Semiconductor Becomes a Talent Academy

The concerns of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which have tried to secure key talent with their own funds, do not end here. Even if they barely retain and train talent suitable for their companies, there is a high possibility that these employees will move to overseas companies offering two to three times higher salaries.

In particular, China is indiscriminately poaching domestic semiconductor personnel. It is no longer unfamiliar to see them lure talent by offering houses, cars, and salaries two to three times higher than those in Korea. A professor of a domestic semiconductor-related department who was contacted by Chinese companies through the talent recruitment plan said, "Although my patriotism prevented me from ultimately going, it is true that the attractive conditions made me waver."

Cases of receiving prison sentences for technology leakage after succumbing to such temptations are also increasing. Since 2018, a vice president of an SK Hynix partner company accused of leaking SK Hynix's core semiconductor technology and trade secrets to Chinese semiconductor competitors was sentenced to one year in prison in the first trial last September. According to the National Intelligence Service's investigation of industrial technology overseas leakage from 2018 to last year over six years, there were 104 detected cases, with 30 cases (28.8%) in the semiconductor field. The damage from the 104 overseas leakage cases amounts to about 25 trillion won.

Government Talent Supply Plans Are Not New

Experts point out that the government's talent development plans are merely expressions of intent. They say it is just a slogan of "we must nurture well." Recently, the government announced that through semiconductor contract departments and contract quotas, specialized universities, and academies, about 30,000 bachelor's level practical talents and about 3,700 master's and doctoral level advanced talents will be trained this year. They also plan to increase the number of design talents with practical skills through the My Chip service to 600 this year.

However, experts criticize that these plans are merely summaries of previously announced content. An expert who requested anonymity said, "Looking only at the training plans, they are feasible," but added, "It is more appropriate to see this as the government showing a willingness to support semiconductor manpower needs rather than concrete actions."