[Edaily Reporter SOYEON KIM ] With SamsungElectronics moving up its executive evaluation schedule this year, there is speculation that the company may carry out its regular year-end personnel reshuffle as early as the middle or latter half of this month. One of the key focal points of this reshuffle is the United States. This is because the U.S. market has become increasingly important for strengthening competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and responding to U.S. Big Tech clients, making it possible to deploy key talent to the United States. As the center of the AI semiconductor competition shifts to U.S. Big Tech, such changes are already evident in the personnel strategies of major South Korean conglomerates.

According to business circles on the 8th, SamsungElectronics is expected to carry out personnel changes for its presidents and executives as early as the middle to late part of this month. It is reported that the related executive evaluations have already been completed. SamsungElectronics used to conduct its year-end personnel reshuffle in early December until 2022 but has moved it up to the end of November for the past three years; this suggests it may be brought forward even further.

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The prevailing trend across the business community has recently been toward “early personnel reshuffles.” Companies such as SK, Hanwha, and HD HYUNDAI have carried out their regular reshuffles early and begun preparing for next year’s business operations. This is interpreted as a move by new management to plan next year’s business early and take the lead in formulating mid- to long-term strategies. In particular, as the competitive landscape is rapidly restructuring around AI, strategic personnel assignments that concentrate talent in core businesses have become more frequent.

On the 30th of last month, SK hynix established a new president-level organization, the Americas Division, and appointed President Ahn Hyun—who has led the development of AI memory technology—as its head. President Ahn is a key technology expert who has spearheaded the development of next-generation AI memory, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and SOCAMM, a low-power server memory module. This move is seen as a strategic step by SK hynix to strengthen its global business by expanding its engagement with major U.S. tech clients, building on the competitive edge it has secured in the AI memory market.

This demonstrates that the nature of collaboration with customers in the AI semiconductor market is changing. Collaboration that incorporates customer requirements—such as performance, power efficiency, and product specifications—from the development stage onward is becoming increasingly important.

In particular, the U.S. market is becoming increasingly important for South Korean memory companies. As U.S. Big Tech firms lead massive investments in AI infrastructure, technical collaboration with local customers and the ability to make swift decisions have emerged as key factors determining the competitiveness of semiconductor companies.

Attention is also focused on the potential for SamsungElectronics to elevate the status of its U.S. semiconductor business organization. SamsungElectronics is expanding its HBM supply partnerships with U.S. Big Tech firms while simultaneously strengthening its local production base in the U.S., centered on the Taylor foundry plant. For the foundry business, securing major global customers and building a track record of stable mass production are considered the most urgent tasks. In both the memory and foundry businesses, performance is heavily dependent on establishing close cooperative relationships with customers.

An official in the semiconductor industry stated, “U.S. Big Tech companies—including NVIDIA, AMD, and Broadcom, which are major customers in the AI semiconductor market—are leading the way in technology development and supply chain construction,” adding, “How SamsungElectronics approaches its personnel strategy in the U.S., a market of growing importance, will be the key focus of this year’s personnel decisions.”