Out of the total 330 professors in Seoul National University’s College of Engineering, only about 15 specialize in semiconductors, a professor at the university’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering said on May 16, pointing out that the decline in universities’ function to cultivate high-level semiconductor personnel has led to a serious problem in supplying talent to the industry.
Hwang Chul-seong, chair professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, made this statement during his keynote lecture on “The Future of Semiconductors” at the 11th Materials, Parts, and Equipment Future Forum held at L Tower in Yangjae, Seoul. Prof. Hwang, recently awarded the Hwangjo Order of Merit for Civil Service and recognized as a scholar in future memory research, expressed concern that the semiconductor research and development (R&D) achievements in academia could regress.
Hwang diagnoses that the government’s neglect of academia has led to this result. He explained, “Due to the government’s logic that R&D budget cannot be invested in already developed industries, research funds have been continuously cut, making it difficult for domestic universities to continue semiconductor research.” He added, “This has resulted in serious side effects where universities cannot hire successor professors when semiconductor research professors retire, or existing professors are forced to shift their research direction away from semiconductors.”
Hwang emphasized, “In the current situation, it’s an unreasonable demand to ask universities to nurture talent ready for immediate deployment in corporate settings.” He stressed, “The government’s research funding for universities is only about 50 billion to 100 billion won annually. If this were increased to 150 billion won, the number of semiconductor research professors would naturally increase.”
While domestic universities struggle with budget shortages, China’s pursuit has become a cause for concern. Hwang particularly noted the rapid development speed in the field of three-dimensional (3D) DRAM. He said, “3D DRAM may not be necessary right now, but in a few years, as DRAM miniaturization reaches its limits, the demand for 3D DRAM, which stacks storage space vertically, will grow.” He added, “The Chinese Academy of Sciences is publishing papers on 3D DRAM R&D achievements, and it’s at a level that’s difficult for me to keep up with.”
He also mentioned that the treatment of semiconductor talent in China is ahead of Korea. Hwang shared, “An acquaintance worked at Huawei in China for a year and six months and received three times the salary of Samsung Electronics.” He predicted, “Looking at this overall situation, I believe Korea’s dominance in DRAM will last 10 years at most.” He added, “Fortunately, as the DRAM market is expected to grow threefold by 2030 compared to 2020, we must maintain the foundation of materials, parts, and equipment that can protect the DRAM industry.”
