SEOUL, October 06 (AJP) - At least 27 veteran engineers from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix moved to Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT, but 26 have since left after staying an average of just 2.9 years, according to an analysis by a South Korean lawmaker.
The engineers had spent an average of 15.4 years at the Korean chipmakers, including six with more than two decades of experience, according to Rep. Choi Soo-jin of the ruling People Power Party. Her office analyzed publicly available career records, including LinkedIn profiles.
Their expertise spanned circuit design, process integration, equipment, yield analysis and advanced packaging, with some having experience in high-bandwidth memory and other advanced memory technologies.
Choi's office said recruiters offered some Korean engineers salary increases ranging from 60 percent to twice their previous pay, along with housing, education support and employment guarantees of three to five years.
"Semiconductor technology is not just about blueprints, but the experience and know-how accumulated by people over 20 or 30 years," Choi said, calling for stronger measures to track and retain key semiconductor personnel.
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