10 Behavioral Guidelines Established in 1983
Responding to the Rapidly Changing Semiconductor Market
Samsung Electronics is reorganizing the 'Semiconductor Person's Creed,' which has supported its corporate culture over the past half-century, to suit the times as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of its semiconductor business. This is interpreted as a strategy to regain competitiveness and innovate organizational culture amid the rapidly changing global semiconductor market.
According to industry sources on the 23rd, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division, Device Solutions (DS), is establishing a new 'DS Person's Way of Working' by gathering opinions from employees. This aims to inherit the existing 'Semiconductor Person's Creed' while preparing new guidelines to respond to the current crisis and future challenges.
Samsung Electronics stated, "Now, marking 50 years in the semiconductor business, we stand at an important turning point in a new environment unlike the past," adding, "As semiconductor technology and markets rapidly change, tectonic shifts in the global semiconductor industry are accelerating." It continued, "We also need innovation that matches the changes of the era," and "The 'Semiconductor Person's Creed,' which has been the cornerstone of Samsung Semiconductor for the past half-century, must be reborn in a new form suitable for the next 50 years."
The 'Semiconductor Person's Creed' is a set of 10 behavioral guidelines created in 1983 when Samsung challenged the memory semiconductor business to strengthen employees' resolve. These include: ▲Abandon the thought of 'it can't be done' ▲Set big goals ▲Once you start work, persist relentlessly ▲Be excessively dedicated ▲Find the cause within yourself before looking for reasons ▲Act with humility and kindness ▲Read books, search materials, and keep records ▲Understand everything numerically ▲Thoroughly learn, instruct, and verify ▲Always think, research, and have conviction. While this creed has played a crucial role in Samsung Semiconductor's growth and success over the past 40 years, it is now judged that a new direction is needed amid the rapidly changing market environment and current crisis.
Recently, Samsung Electronics faces multiple challenges in the semiconductor field. It has lost leadership in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, which is gaining attention alongside the expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) market, to SK Hynix, and the gap with Taiwan's TSMC in the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) business is widening. Amid these circumstances, the earnings forecast for the third quarter of this year has been revised downward, and the stock price has fallen continuously, dropping to the 60,000 won range.
Internal problems also persist. In July, the company experienced its first-ever strike by the labor union since its founding, and recently, labor-management conflicts have continued due to a radiation exposure accident. These internal conflicts and weakening competitiveness in the external market pose a significant burden on Samsung's semiconductor business.
In this crisis, Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun, appointed as head of the semiconductor division last May, is seeking ways to strengthen competitiveness. After announcing the second-quarter results, he pointed out, "Currently, the DS division faces the urgent task of fundamentally restoring competitiveness," emphasizing the need for organizational culture innovation and fundamental competitiveness recovery.
As part of strengthening competitiveness, Vice Chairman Jeon proposed a new organizational culture called 'C.O.R.E. Work.' This stands for Communicate (communication for problem-solving and synergy between organizations), Openly Discuss (intense discussions regardless of rank or relationship), Reveal (honest disclosure of problems), and Execute (data-driven decision-making and thorough execution).
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