As demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors explodes, SK Hynix (000660.KS) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) are going all-out to secure the talent and equipment needed to bring new production facilities online. With large-scale fab launches scheduled for 2028-2029, there is a palpable sense of urgency that failure to proactively secure everything from product design engineers to local plant operations staff and critical production equipment could leave them trailing in the global competition.
SK Hynix is staking its future on securing High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) design talent. According to industry sources on the 12th, SK Hynix is recruiting experienced professionals for 14 positions through its “August Monthly hy-way” hiring program, which runs through the 19th. Ten of the total positions are in technology research and development (R&D), with seven specifically related to HBM, including HBM circuit design, digital design, verification, and product engineering (PE). This represents half of all open positions.
Notably, six positions—including HBM circuit design and digital design front-end, back-end, RTL, SoC, and verification—were carried over from a previous experienced hire round in June. Repeatedly recruiting for similar roles underscores how sharply demand for HBM design and verification specialists has risen. SK Hynix will also begin accepting applications for technical office positions for new graduates in the second half of the year from the 20th to the 26th. Open roles span key areas including design, device, R&D process, and mass production technology, with workplaces in Icheon, Cheongju, Bundang, and Seoul. This new graduate recruitment round is notable for removing academic and age restrictions and replacing the self-introduction letter with a format that assesses AI utilization skills and semiconductor job expertise.
Samsung Electronics is accelerating its workforce buildup as it prepares for the launch of its Taylor, Texas foundry plant within the year. The company began dispatching a large number of expatriate employees in June, and approximately 100 are currently working at the Taylor plant. Including dispatched workers and partner company employees, the total number of personnel who have relocated to the site is estimated to be in the hundreds.
Samsung Electronics recently included the Taylor plant for the first time as a destination for its summer internship program next year. It has also begun recruiting for the Samsung Emerging Engineer Development (SEED) program, a new graduate initiative targeting engineering majors. Internship participants will engage in 11 weeks of hands-on projects in product, process, and technology areas, while SEED recruits will undergo semiconductor manufacturing training before being assigned to local departments.
The talent race between the two companies coincides with massive investments in production facilities. SK Hynix recently decided to invest a total of 54.3 trillion won (approximately $38.3 billion)—including 35.2 trillion won (approximately $24.8 billion) in Y2, the second DRAM fab at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, and 19.1 trillion won (approximately $13.5 billion) in the Cheongju NAND fab M17. The Yongin Y2 fab is scheduled to open its first cleanroom in June 2029, and Cheongju M17 in December 2028, establishing a production base to meet mid-to-long-term AI memory demand.
Samsung Electronics also plans to invest more than $37 billion (approximately 52.5 trillion won) in the Texas region over the coming years to build two advanced foundry fabs and an R&D facility in Taylor, while expanding its existing Austin production site. The plan is to complete as much of the production equipment installation and mass production verification for Taylor Fab 1 this year, then gradually expand 2-nanometer process production capacity starting next year. Taylor Fab 2 will begin construction at the end of this year, targeting mass production in 2030.
With new fabs lining up one after another, securing critical production equipment on time has emerged as a major challenge. This is because equipment orders for new fabs both domestically and internationally are likely to be concentrated around the 2028-2029 timeframe.
Among semiconductor manufacturing equipment, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines—the most technologically complex—are effectively supplied exclusively by the Netherlands-based ASML. Christophe Fouquet, CEO of ASML, stated after the company’s second-quarter earnings release in July that “for EUV, we have almost secured the necessary orders for 2027, and the same goes for 2028 volumes,” indicating that equipment production slots are already fully booked.
The issue extends beyond EUV equipment alone. Operating a single fab requires numerous process tools for deposition, etching, cleaning, and other steps in addition to lithography. Furthermore, as investment in back-end processes expands, demand for packaging equipment is also increasing. “The background is different from the supply shortages during the COVID era, but based on past experience, concerns about equipment supply shortages are already emerging within the industry,” said a source at a South Korean semiconductor equipment company. “There is a rush to place orders, with next year’s volumes being discussed as early as the beginning of this year.” The source added, “Recently, demand for back-end process equipment, such as advanced packaging, has increased significantly.”
The surge in equipment demand is confirmed by the numbers. According to provisional import data for August 1-10 released by the Korea Customs Service on the 11th, semiconductor manufacturing equipment imports jumped 77.3% year-over-year. Trade statistics from the Korea International Trade Association also show that semiconductor manufacturing equipment imports in the first half of this year totaled $18.605 billion, a 39.5% surge compared to the same period last year.
Global equipment makers are also expanding their factories in preparation for potential supply shortages. Hanmi Semiconductor (042700.KS) is currently building its seventh plant in Juan, Incheon, and is also pursuing the acquisition of an eighth plant.
Concerns have also been raised that if new domestic fab investments proceed simultaneously, equipment prices could rise, increasing the overall investment cost burden. However, a semiconductor production industry source explained, “While it is true that securing equipment quickly has become more important than before, there does not appear to be any increase in equipment costs yet.”
Meanwhile, the South Korean government is also accelerating the development of semiconductor clusters. At a cabinet meeting on the 11th, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan stated regarding the Honam Semiconductor Cluster in South Korea’s Honam region, “We are targeting the first completion of a semiconductor fab in 2029,” adding that “centered around the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, we have decided to rapidly push forward with the creation of the national industrial complex and the establishment of the complex development plan.” A massive investment is underway in the Honam region, where Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are each planning to build two semiconductor fabs, totaling four facilities.