President Hanjinman of Samsung Electronics: "Foundry Expected to Turn Profitable by 2028"

Hanjinman, President and Head of the Foundry Division at Samsung Electronics, stated on June 12, "It does not seem likely that the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) business will turn a profit even next year," adding, "There is a high possibility of achieving profitability by 2028."

President Hanjinman made these remarks during a business status briefing for employees held later in the day, where he shared the current state of the business and future strategies with staff members.

Jinman Han, President and Head of Samsung Electronics Foundry Business Division.

He cited several reasons for expecting continued losses in 2027, including not only the cost burden from paying special performance bonuses, but also delays in shifting away from a mobile-centric business structure, insufficient technological maturity, a low-profit order structure, and inadequate legacy process operation strategies. He also reportedly stated, "Ultimately, the responsibility for the losses lies with management," and expressed his intention to improve the business structure to enhance profitability.

Regarding compensation, he emphasized that restoring business competitiveness must come first and conveyed his commitment to raising the level of rewards so that employees can tangibly feel the results through performance creation.

Samsung Electronics plans to simultaneously strengthen its competitiveness in advanced process technology and secure the foundation for its main process business going forward.

Regarding the currently profitable 8-inch foundry business, President Hanjinman was quoted as saying, "The market is becoming a red ocean," and explained that there are plans to wind down the business in stages.

Meanwhile, Samsung Foundry is accelerating its performance improvement by securing major customers. Samsung Electronics is currently constructing a production facility in Taylor, Texas, in the United States, equipped with an advanced 2-nanometer process. The Taylor plant is expected to begin initial operations at the end of this year, and from 2027, to start mass production of products for major clients such as Tesla.

President Hanjinman commented, "As the head of the division, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility," adding, "We have sufficient technology and capabilities, so we can definitely regain our competitiveness. Let's trust each other and work together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.