In the past, most Korean corporations moved on the strong leadership and decisiveness of their founders. Samsung led by Lee Byung-chul and Hyundai led by Chung Ju-yung are representative examples. But as they now vie for the top spot in the global market, these corporations have grown so large that it is difficult for the owner alone to shoulder management. The role of the so-called "keyman," who sits closest to the chief, oversees each field, and plays a pivotal part in final decision-making for the future, has grown in importance. We introduce the keymen of major corporations leading Korea's economy and examine the roles and tasks assigned to them. [Editor's note]
In Oct. 2024, Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of the DS (semiconductor) institutional sector at Samsung Electronics, bowed his head before investors and shareholders on behalf of Samsung Electronics' management. Citing poor results and management missteps, he publicly delivered a "letter of reflection." Jun detailed Samsung Electronics' organizational culture, ways of working, and the erosion of fundamental competitiveness, and pledged a fresh takeoff. It signaled a strong will to not only confront the numbers showing poor performance but also face and resolve the problems lurking beneath the surface.
Jun stepping forward before investors and employees to acknowledge management failure and vow reform carried significant implications. At the time, Samsung Electronics was in an all-around crisis, with even the competitiveness of each business division questioned, including the top decision-making body, the Business Support TF (now the Business Support Office), and public criticism was fierce. Jun, representing management, taking responsibility and stressing sweeping change also meant he had been entrusted with commensurate authority.
◇ The "charge leader" of Samsung semiconductors returns
Jun is regarded as one of the contributors who, alongside former Samsung Electronics Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun, ushered in the heyday of Samsung semiconductors from the early to mid-2010s. As effectively the right-hand to Kwon, he served three years as head of the memory business, the heart of Samsung semiconductors, pushing like a bulldozer and helping cement overwhelming No. 1 in the global memory market.
But when Kwon retired in 2017 and Jun was shunted to Samsung SDI, he became a "forgotten hero" for a time. Internally, Kwon recommended Jun as his successor to head the DS institutional sector, but in the end, former Chairman Kim Ki-nam took the post.
Jun is now effectively running the semiconductor business independently, having been granted de facto full authority by No. 2 Park Hark-kyu, head of the Business Support Office, as well as Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics. Jun rejoined the "Future Business Planning Group," newly created by Samsung Electronics in 2023, gaining Lee's trust, and in May 2024 took the helm of the DS institutional sector with the mandate to rebuild Samsung semiconductors, which had been in the red. It signals that the DS institutional sector, which had effectively lost its independence after Kwon's retirement, has begun returning to a professional management system suited to its unique characteristics.
Jun differs somewhat from Samsung Electronics' finance and strategy experts often classified as close to Chairman Lee Jae-yong. As a traditional engineer by training, he is far from the current Samsung control tower composed of alumni from the so-called "old Future Strategy Office." He is a professional manager with semiconductor expertise responsible for realizing medium- to long-term road maps. In business circles, some interpret this as a sign that the "empowerment system," based on the trust between the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee and former Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun, has been revived.
◇ Special orders for Jun Young-hyun lead to a "major surgery" at Samsung semiconductors
Jun also differs from heads of Samsung semiconductors who followed the elite track, such as Kwon Oh-hyun and Kim Ki-nam. Unusually for a Samsung executive, he came from LG Semicon and joined Samsung Electronics in 2000. Recognized for both engineering and marketing prowess, he rose in 14 years to head the memory business, the core of Samsung semiconductors. During his tenure as memory chief, Samsung Electronics was assessed to be at least a year ahead of competitors SK hynix and Micron in mobile and server DRAM technologies.
His management style, likened to a bulldozer when he led the memory business, is widely seen as having become somewhat more flexible after he took over as head of the DS institutional sector. Still, his trademark bold decisiveness and dogged, head-on approach remain intact. In a message posted on the internal bulletin board after taking office, Jun cited walls to interdepartmental communication, a culture of hiding or avoiding problems, and unrealistic plans based only on hopeful targets as factors weakening competitiveness. These were issues widely acknowledged internally yet difficult to air, which he tackled head-on.
If heads of Samsung's semiconductor institutional sector had been preoccupied with concealing how they fell behind rivals across all memory segments, including high bandwidth memory (HBM), DRAM, and NAND flash, Jun openly acknowledged missteps and stressed restoring competitiveness. Not long after taking office, he conceded at the regular shareholders meeting that Samsung was late in its initial response to the HBM market and vowed not to repeat past mistakes in next-generation processes.
Among his most important decisions was a sweeping redesign of 10-nanometer 4th-generation (1a) DRAM, which had been cited as both the reason Samsung fell behind in the server DRAM market and the cause of weakened HBM competitiveness. DRAM process development is a long-term project that takes at least one to two years. In other words, a redesign requires massive expense and time. It was a high-risk decision, but under Jun's leadership Samsung semiconductors moved in lockstep to correct previous errors and missteps.
◇ The gears begin to turn again
Under Jun's leadership, each business division of Samsung semiconductors is showing rapid resilience. Lee Jong-hwan, a professor in the Department of System Semiconductor Engineering at Sangmyung University, said, "Under Jun's leadership, the core of Samsung's semiconductor management approach is strengthening execution by aligning responsibility and authority." Jun concurrently serves as head of the DS institutional sector and of the memory business, and for DRAM, the largest revenue driver, he gave strong authority to Hwang Sang-joon, head of DRAM development, with a special directive to improve design, engineering, and production yield. Known as a cautious and thorough engineer, Hwang is credited with successfully completing the DRAM redesign.
Reviving the foundry (contract chip manufacturing) business, which had posted losses every quarter, is also one of Jun's achievements. The strategy of appointing President Han Jin-man—known as Samsung semiconductors' best "salesman" and a "master negotiator"—to lead the division, and naming President Nam Seok-woo as chief technology officer (CTO), proved effective. Although President Song Jai-hyuk serves as CTO overseeing Samsung semiconductors as a whole, installing a separate CTO for the foundry business was a clever move to differentiate the distinctiveness of foundry and memory.
Under President Han Jin-man, Samsung Foundry has been steadily resolving chronic issues of order drought and declining utilization by winning major customers across both mature and advanced nodes. In mature processes, it solidified collaborations with major clients such as Intel, IBM, Nintendo, and STMicroelectronics, and in cutting-edge processes, it boosted 2-nanometer production yield, striking a large-scale deal with Tesla and raising the possibility of a contract with AMD.
The HBM business, which had trailed SK hynix, is also preparing for a fresh leap. For the fifth-generation HBM (HBM3E) products, which had been dogged by quality and performance issues, both 8-high and 12-high products have sharply increased shipments, closely chasing SK hynix. For the next-generation HBM, sixth-generation HBM (HBM4), it exceeded performance targets with major customers such as Nvidia and Broadcom. A senior Samsung official said, "Samsung is the world's only company operating both memory and foundry businesses at the same time," adding, "In HBM4, Samsung introduced DRAM and logic dies using processes ahead of rivals, and the organic cooperation between memory and foundry proved effective in the process."
Under Jun's leadership, Samsung Electronics posted a record-high quarterly operating profit of 20 trillion won in the fourth quarter last year. Recording results far above market expectations, the dominant view is that it opened the curtain on a semiconductor supercycle. Domestic and overseas investment banks and market research firms say the real boom begins this year.
◇ Concerns over a leadership vacuum for Samsung semiconductors
Still, doubts remain about the medium- to long-term sustainability of the Jun Young-hyun leadership. Despite Jun, born in 1960, taking on the role of firefighter for Samsung semiconductors at an advanced age, there is still no clear successor in sight. If Jun has faithfully fulfilled the role of "post-Kwon Oh-hyun," the point is that a "post-Jun Young-hyun" has yet to stand out.
As the whirlwind unleashed by artificial intelligence (AI) begins to reshape the global semiconductor market, some say new leadership is needed for the medium- to long-term growth prospects of Samsung semiconductors. Yoon Sung-ro, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University, said, "If Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun has stabilized the crisis and protected the roots of memory, Samsung semiconductors' task going forward is integrated solutions that encompass hardware and software," adding, "Based on the capabilities Samsung has, it is time to redefine the value of memory and go beyond a 'super gap in technology' to achieve a 'super gap in strategy' as well."