Samsung to Hold Global Strategy Meeting Starting June 17
Key Agenda Items Expected to Be Discussed
DS Division to Hold Separate Meeting on June 18
Discussions to Include Strengthening AI Packaging Capabilities
Samsung’s Texas Foundry Plant
SK hynix’s Indiana Plant
Reviewing Possibility of Adjusting Follow-up Investments
In a situation where various external factors, such as changes in U.S. trade policy and intensifying competition in the memory semiconductor sector, are having a combined impact, Samsung Electronics will hold a global strategy meeting for three days starting from June 17 to review its business strategies for the second half of the year. With the Donald Trump administration in the United States announcing its intention to reduce subsidies previously promised to locally-invested semiconductor companies, this issue is expected to be a key agenda item at the meeting. The meetings will be chaired separately by Roh Tae-moon, acting head of the Device eXperience (DX) division, and Jeon Young-hyun, head of the Device Solutions (DS) division, with major executives and heads of overseas subsidiaries in attendance. As in previous years, Chairman Lee Jae-yong will not attend the meetings in person and will instead be briefed separately at a later date.
The DX division will begin with the Mobile eXperience (MX) business unit meeting on June 17, followed by meetings for the Visual Display (VD) and Digital Appliances (DA) business units on June 18, and a company-wide integrated meeting on June 19. The agenda will include regional launch schedules and sales strategies for new smartphones and home appliances in the second half of the year, as well as plans to strengthen marketing.
The DS division, which oversees semiconductors, is scheduled to hold a separate meeting on June 18 to focus on reviewing countermeasures to declining market share and underperformance in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and foundry businesses. According to market research firm Omdia, Samsung Electronics’ global DRAM market share in the first quarter was 34.4%, a decrease of 4.2 percentage points from the previous quarter. SK hynix, which maintained its lead in the HBM market, recorded a 36.9% share during the same period, surpassing Samsung Electronics.
From the second half of the year, the DS division is expected to discuss shifting its product strategy toward high value-added memory, strengthening packaging capabilities to meet artificial intelligence (AI) demand, and recovering competitiveness in the foundry business. In addition, improving research and development (R&D) efficiency and organizational culture may also be major agenda items.
In particular, strategies to respond to changes in U.S. government semiconductor subsidy policies are expected to be discussed. On June 4 (local time), U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that existing subsidy agreements are "excessively generous" and expressed plans to renegotiate them. He added, "Some items under negotiation are moving in a better direction, and there are issues that should never have been agreed upon in the first place."
Samsung Electronics is currently constructing a foundry plant in Taylor, Texas, with an investment of approximately $37 billion (51 trillion won), while SK hynix plans to establish an advanced packaging production facility for AI memory in Indiana. Both companies have signed contracts to receive subsidies of 6.5 trillion won and 630 billion won, respectively.
However, as the U.S. government appears to be using subsidies as a bargaining chip to induce additional investment, it is reported that both Samsung and SK hynix are reviewing the timing and scope of follow-up investments. Some are also considering scenarios such as revising supply chain strategies centered on the U.S. or resuming diversified investments in third countries.
An industry official stated, "Secretary Lutnick’s remarks seem to repeat the established stance shown by the Trump administration since its early days. Since the subsidy issue depends on the policy direction of the U.S. government, Korean companies are currently taking a cautious approach and closely monitoring the situation."
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