Samsung reveals new leadership in foundry push

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday replaced its foundry business head in its year-end leadership reshuffle and created the new president-level position of chief technology officer in an apparent move to breathe fresh air into its sluggish foundry business.

The tech giant promoted Han Jin-man, executive vice president and head of Device Solutions America, to president and head of its foundry business.

After joining Samsung in January 1989, Han has held various roles, including leading DRAM and flash memory design, SSD development and strategic marketing teams. He assumed the role of head of Device Solutions America in 2022 and has been leading chip operations at the forefront of the US market.

The 58-year-old memory chip expert is recognized for his technical expertise, business acumen and extensive global customer engagement experience.

Samsung touted him as a chip specialist who can strengthen client relations and elevate the competitiveness of the foundry business to the next level.

Securing orders from major clients to boost the operation rate of Samsung foundry plants and improve performance is expected to be the biggest challenge for Han.

In the era of artificial intelligence, Samsung has been struggling to escape the slump in performance as it loses its edge in high-bandwidth memory and faces prolonged deficits in its foundry business. The deficit in its foundry business alone in the third quarter is estimated to reach about 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion), according to market watchers.

Its gap with TSMC, the world's largest foundry company that manufactures Nvidia chips, is also widening further. According to Counterpoint Research, TSMC dominates the global foundry market with a 64 percent market share, far surpassing second-place Samsung, which holds 12 percent, as of the third quarter.

In response, Samsung has signaled its determination to strengthen market dominance and the technological competitiveness of its foundry business through this year’s top brass reshuffle, aiming for a significant renewal of the Device Solutions Division’s momentum.

As part of its renewed foundry push, Samsung also named Nam Seok-woo, president and head of fab engineering and operations, as chief technology officer, a new position within the foundry business.

Nam is an expert in chip process development and manufacturing. The 58-year-old chip manufacturing veteran joined Samsung in January 1988 and led process development for all memory products and the semiconductor research and development center.

Nam also served as the head of the memory and foundry manufacturing technology center and device solution division manufacturing and technology as well.

He has contributed significantly to securing advanced process technology and strengthening manufacturing competitiveness. With his extensive experience in chip processes and manufacturing, Nam is expected to enhance the technological capabilities of the foundry business as competition in the sub-2 nanometer advanced process technology intensifies in the industry.

Another notable change at this year’s top brass reshuffle is the establishment of a new president-level role, head of management strategy for the Device Solutions Division.

Kim Yong-kwan, executive vice president of the Business Support Task Force, was named to the new position.

Kim is a strategic planning expert with experience in chip planning and finance. The 61-year-old veteran started working at the tech giant in December 1988 and has also worked in the Future Strategy Office, which acted as a overseeing office until February 2017.

In 2020, he took charge of Samsung Medison, a medical equipment subsidiary of the tech giant, stabilizing operations before transitioning to the Business Support Task Force in May 2024, where he contributed as a chip support leader.

As the head of management strategy, the tech giant expects Kim to leverage his rich experience in business operations to spearhead the DS division’s new growth initiatives and accelerate the recovery of semiconductor competitiveness.