SK Hynix "Alliances and Customer Proximity Are Important... Investments Must Be Made Carefully"

Vice President Ryu Byung-hoon Interview with Company Newsroom
"Need to Consider Speed of AI Data Center Construction"

"Looking at the artificial intelligence (AI) market, there is a trend where upstream businesses aim to minimize expenditures while increasing efficiency. From this, the insight emerges that demand for customized products is rising. Moving forward, we believe that strategic alliances considering the competitive environment and close customer service will become even more important, and we will contemplate future strategies accordingly."

Ryu Byung-hoon, Vice President in charge of Future Strategy at SK Hynix, revealed these plans in an interview with the company's newsroom on the 4th. Leading the future strategy organization that contemplates and supports the company's growth direction from a long-term perspective, Vice President Ryu collaborates with various departments to broadly collect market information, respond swiftly to changes, and strive to maximize profitability.

Ryu Byung-hoon, Vice President in charge of Future Strategy at SK Hynix / [Photo by SK Hynix Newsroom]

This year, Vice President Ryu reorganized the organization to optimize production and sales and improve cost efficiency in manufacturing and research & development (R&D). He bifurcated the existing organization into management strategy and management planning to enhance specialization and incorporated a new organization under future strategy to support company-wide ESG activities. According to him, this transformation has turned the organization into one that examines short- and mid-to-long-term strategies, investment efficiency, and geopolitical issues.

Vice President Ryu emphasized that a 'one-team spirit' is crucial to achieving the organization's mission. He stated, "We need to lay out data and insights such as industry information encountered in the R&D organization and hardware changes in Silicon Valley identified by the advanced technology research organization and discuss them together to enhance global competitiveness. It is essential to enable the entire company to read trends."

In fact, SK Hynix confirmed through its business departments that, due to the AI effect, demand for high-capacity enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs, NAND-based large-capacity storage devices) installed in data centers is surging. This information was shared with the strategy department to be reflected in business plans. Vice President Ryu explained, "If the entire company operates organically and establishes a culture of sharing real-time information, this alone can generate effects worth hundreds of billions of won."

The future strategy organization plans to actively utilize the analysis tool it developed directly. This tool can assist in regression analysis using upstream and downstream industry data and help forecast memory market conditions. According to this analysis, the market for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a memory for AI, is showing positive signs this year as well.

However, there are many market variables to consider, such as numerous AI companies relying on venture capital. Vice President Ryu said, "Although growth is certain in the short term, volatility must be kept in mind until the upstream industry is firmly established," adding, "Investments should be increased cautiously, considering the speed of AI data center construction."

Vice President Ryu plans to focus on establishing a global operating system going forward. He stated, "Due to geopolitical situations, supply chain changes, and the impact of mergers and alliances between companies, the future semiconductor market will change rapidly," and announced plans to establish an advanced operating system to respond accordingly. He envisions cultivating insight and foresight from a top-down perspective, looking at the big picture first and then filling in the details.