SK hynix will introduce a work method that uses Korean and English together for some teams. As a global corporations, it is a move to expand an English-based work environment to boost competitiveness.
On the 22nd, according to the industry, the SK hynix AI infrastructure team recently notified members of guidelines to write emails in both Korean and English.
Along with this, it plans to switch the team name to English and gradually promote the Anglicization of work systems. It also recommended using English nicknames in executive meetings.
The company said it launched a pilot focused on teams with many touchpoints with overseas customers. An SK hynix official said it was a measure to strengthen the English-use environment in the AI infrastructure team, where global collaboration is frequent.
The AI infrastructure team is a core unit that oversees artificial intelligence (AI) memory and next-generation product planning and leads the AI market through customer-centric sales. In particular, it is cited as the team with the most touchpoints with major global customers, including Nvidia.
The move is highly likely to expand to other teams later. SK hynix is also expanding training programs to strengthen employees' English skills. Since the 9th of this month, it has been recruiting for a global internship targeting research and development (R&D) and business fields.
Earlier, at an in-house event held at the Icheon campus at the end of last month, the company said it would create an environment where English can be used routinely.
Across Korea's semiconductor industry, there is also a growing trend of adopting an English-centered work culture. Samsung recently implemented guidelines that require documents between domestic and overseas affiliates to be written in English, focusing on key subsidiaries such as Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, and Samsung Biologics.
It is also running programs to strengthen collaboration among global talent. Samsung Electronics introduced STEP (Samsung Talent Exchange Program) in 2022 to offer cross-posting opportunities among domestic and overseas employees.
It is also expanding language capability programs, including supporting application fees twice a year for spoken-language tests such as English, Vietnamese, Russian, Spanish (OPIc), Chinese (TSC), and Japanese (SJPT).
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong also emphasized the importance of learning foreign languages in 2023, saying with new employees that learning a foreign language is understanding that country's thinking and values.
Industry analysts say that as semiconductor corporations shift to a structure where collaboration with global customers is essential, building an English-based work environment is becoming a key element of competitiveness.