Memory Experts Named to Lead Key Foundry Department
Samsung Electronics has replaced the head of the Semiconductor R&D Center, which is leading the development of next-generation chips. At the same time, it has reshuffled key executives of the Foundry Business, which is competing with Taiwan's TSMC in the world foundry market.
Samsung Electronics has appointed Song Jae-hyuk, vice president and head of the Flash Development Department, as the new head of the Semiconductor R&D Center. Song is credited with orchestrating a shift to vertical NAND flashes and the development of super-stacked NAND flashes.
In the Foundry Business reshuffle, Nam Seok-woo, vice president of global manufacturing & infrastructure in the Semiconductor Business of the Device Solutions (DS) Division, will double as the head of the Foundry Manufacturing Technology Center. Nam is one of Samsung Electronics’ best memory semiconductor process development experts.
Kim Hong-shik, vice president of the Memory Manufacturing Technology Center, has been appointed to lead the foundry technology innovation team. Through the reshuffle, the company has mobilized memory semiconductor experts to lead the core department of the Foundry Business.
The small-scale reshuffle is unusual. “Samsung Electronics has suffered foundry customer defections due to low yields and a failure to develop fifth-generation DRAMs. It appears that the company is seeking to find solutions to these problems," an analyst at an investment company said.
Samsung Electronics’ Foundry Business is facing a major test. It is planning to mass-produce the world’s first gate all around (GAA)-based 3-nm chips as early as June. If the company secures a stable production yield, it will be able to change the landscape of the global foundry market, market observers say.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong will go on a business trip to the Netherlands next week, after meeing with the CEOs of Intel and Qualcomm. Lee's trip fuels speculations that the company has made considerable progress in making large-scale merger and acquisition (M&A) deals.