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Few people would have known the importance of Southeast Asia in the semiconductor industry until the Covid-19 hit the region and stopped factories, causing a disruption in the global supply chain in recent months.

The region is not only the center of the industry’s back-end packaging process, but also has a growing semiconductor market that is forecast to grow to $41.9 billion by 2028, up from $26.9 billion in 2020, according to the Fortune Business Insights.

Min Young-seok, who oversees the region as the head of SK hynix Singapore, sees great potential in the market, which encompasses an area from India to Malaysia to Vietnam, as the ASEAN governments ramp up efforts to foster the industry with diverse incentives and the introduction of new technologies.

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SK hynix Singapore provides sales operation support for global account customers’ regional offices, works with local customers, and identifies new business opportunities. It also identifies and shares with the headquarters how the global supply chain expands into India and Southeast and Southwest Asia and trends in the supply chain of major ICT parts that have been impacted by COVID-19.

“The growth of smartphone users in Southeast Asia and India markets, as well as planned launches of 5G communication services, are prompting forecasts of continued demand momentum for mobile memory,” Min said.

Notably, top-tier Indian telecommunications companies are competing fiercely to expand their market share by attracting new subscribers. Such competition typically prompts provision of low-cost or free smartphones, which typically leads to a surge in demand for memory products.

“We see various sales opportunities in the region. The introduction of the Indian government’s strong initiatives aimed at fostering the manufacturing sector and acceleration in creation of the component eco system on top of the increasing investments and exports there are all indicating a rise in chip sales.”

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An employee since January 1992, Min started in the semiconductor production division of SK hynix, formerly known as Hyundai Electronics, as a supervisor in the 6-inch FAB-3 etch area, where he first learned about the entire wafer manufacturing process. He then moved on to the DRAM business unit to help establish mid- to long-term business plans. He worked in the sales division’s Graphics Business Department, the marketing team in Taiwan office and the NAND mobile marketing team at headquarters. He then joined the Singapore office in 2018 as the head overseeing the greater region.

“As you can tell from the wide range of our business coverage and diversity of the societies here, we need to deal with customers from various races and countries, so it is necessary to understand and respect the differences of each culture.”

While many employees now work from home because of the Covid-19 situation, Min is confident that the office environment designed to promote barrier-free communications between affiliates will bring back SK’s inclusive culture should everyone return to the ordinary daily life.

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Among a handful of his accomplishments over the years, he recalls an unforgettable memory from 2018 when he turned the risk of failing to meet a sales target in India to a success through a seven-hour negotiation session.

Back then, any failure to meet the initial plan to sell the low-density MCP products for smart feature phones to an ODM customer that manufactures the phones for a major Indian telecommunications company would have resulted in unused raw materials and components, which then would have led to problems of the entire NAND 2D operations at the headquarters. He recalled it being an agonizing moment that his team members overcame with the spirit of persistence.

“I still vividly remember how I breathed a sigh of relief after completing the sales following seven hours of intensity.”

As a strong leader, Min identifies four skills or traits that are most important to SK hynix: empathy, communication, relationship, and collaboration. His advice for junior-level employees is that they should change their work every five years. The experience of working in various fields will provide them a variety of career options later in the future, Min said.

“Through various positions, I was able to understand the key roles of important areas necessary for the development of the memory business, from R&D, investment, manufacturing, marketing to sales, and how they are connected and implemented. Individual abilities and work skills are important, but at the end of the day, the sum of individual performance will lead to performance of the entire organization.”

The post Thought Leadership: Young-seok Min on his role as Head of SK hynix Singapore first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

In this article, we are highlighting three young colleagues working in three different SK hynix offices in the world. With 32 offices around the globe, SK hynix is proud to offer employees the opportunity to experience different parts of the world while maintaining connections to their home country through their work.

Germany: At the cutting edge

With many top automakers and vehicle-component companies in the region, Europe is leading the future autonomous driving industry and the development of 5G and the future communications market.

The Way I See It: Hyun-jin Song (Technical Leader, Commercial Marketing, Germany)

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Tell us about your role on the commercial marketing team
I am in charge of customers in the networking field, one of the main businesses of the German subsidiary. We closely identify key issues and the current status of relevant markets and customers, establish mid-to-long-term sales plans for each customer in alignment with the head office strategy, and carry out tasks to achieve short-term(monthly/quarter) sales goals.

Since we serve as the first window to connect local customers with the head office, it is necessary to judge the needs of various customers quickly and comprehensively, regardless of the field. We are working hard to help to make the best decisions locally or at our headquarters through this.

Tell us about the culture and characteristics of the regional office where you currently work
I believe that a spirit of cooperation, teamwork and strong ties are the driving forces behind the German subsidiary. Because it is a small office, with relatively fewer employees, everyone is busy with their own work, but whenever large or small issues arise within the corporation, it’s in our DNA to try and solve problems together without distinction between expatriates and local members.

As it’s quite common to meet people still unfamiliar with South Korea, I feel prouder as a member of SK hynix and my country when customers recognize the global status of SK hynix and see locally-hired colleagues take pride in working for a global semiconductor company.

What future technology or trend are you interested in most?
How autonomous driving technology will evolve in the future and when the era of fully autonomous driving will be realized is a very interesting topic for me.

It will be quite challenging because it won’t only require complex and diverse cutting-edge technologies, but issues on regulations, insurance, safety and etc. should also be addressed. I think close collaboration with our customers will be even more important in the near future as the issues are closely related to the technological development of the Automotive/Network industry, the main business area of SK hynix in Germany and the growth of our own memory products for cars.

What’s your after-work personal life like there?
After work or on weekends, I spend most of my time playing golf and traveling. You can enjoy golf at a very reasonable price in Germany unlike in Korea, so golf is a must-have hobby if you work as an expatriate in Germany.

Frankfurt, where the German office is located, is a great place to start a trip as it has flights to all parts of Europe. I can go to all the European cities that I’ve always wanted to visit on weekends, without taking a long vacation. Those short travels are even more satisfying for me as I enjoy taking pictures.

Unfortunately, travel is not easy these days due to the COVID-19 situation, but I hope that I could travel freely again when the pandemic is over in the not-too-distant future.

Japan: Strong Leadership in Materials for Semiconductors

Japan has always been known for its leadership in the technology industry. The country plays a strong role in the NAND Flash market and is also a major developer of semiconductor materials, parts and equipment.

SK hynix has a small but mighty team in Japan that works closely together to drive sales and marketing in the region.

The Way I See It: Jung Hur (Technical Leader, Commercial Marketing, Japan)

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Tell us about your role on the commercial marketing team
My role as a marketer based here is to establish strategies to increase corporate sales, strengthen profitability and foundation. Simply put, my role is to plan and manage the sales of the entire corporation.

The main task is to consult with the headquarters and set the quantity and price of products to be sold to customers here. We also analyze local customers’ demand and send the data to headquarters to predict market conditions in accordance with changes in demand.

For example, if PC customers are expected to increase or reduce their production and memory purchases for PCs, reflecting changes in market conditions, in the next quarter, we report our analysis to the headquarters so that the company can prepare an appropriate plan.

Tell us about the culture and characteristics of the regional office where you currently work
Here, we collaborate with each other very well. It is a small corporation where sales, marketing, technology, purchasing, accounting and management teams coexist, so everyone’s willing to provide support to others, regardless of the team/work boundaries.

What future technology or trend are you interested in most?
What interests me the most is how the semiconductor memory business will overcome the technological limitations for tech migration. So, I’m studying how EUV adoption for DRAM and 3D-NAND structure for NAND are evolving.

What’s your after-work personal life like there? any hobbies?
I usually spend time with my family after work, helping my children with their school homework. Compared to Korea, golf is more popular and cheaper here, so I have been playing golf as a hobby.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, it’s not easy to eat out or meet friends, so more recently, I stay home and don’t go out that often.

Singapore: A logistical centerpiece

Singapore, the current center of Asian logistics, is aiming to become an Asian electric vehicle production hub in the future.

The SK hynix team in Singapore oversees operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India together. Similar to Japan, the SK hynix team in Singapore also works closely together to close deals and service customers in the region.

The Way I See It: Yeon-ju Koo (Technical Leader, Administration, Singapore)

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Tell us about your role on the administration team
This is my third year as a Higineer since I joined the company in February 2019. I work for the Administration’s finance team in Singapore and I’m in charge of credit/fund management. My main role is to closely coordinate with banks to support the cash flow and other plans of the headquarters as rising revenues typically require greater volume in financial transactions.

*Higineer: The term, a combination of hynix and engineer, is widely used within SK hynix to refer to the members of the company.

Tell us about the culture and characteristics of the regional office where you currently work
The team in Singapore has always been welcoming and friendly. I have lots of fond memories including getting invited by local friends to spend time on Singapore holidays and learning Singapore’s custom and traditional games.

What future technology or trend are you interested in most?
I am interested in how technology using artificial intelligence will be applied in the future. There are many areas where artificial intelligence can be used, such as medical, logistics, electric vehicles, tourism, and app development. I think SK hynix will have a greater role and status as demand for semiconductor memory, indispensable to AI, increases.

In Singapore, “National AI Strategy” is one of the top five core projects.

What’s your after-work personal life like there?
Before COVID-19, I spent the weekends traveling to neighboring Southeast Asian countries with my friends, taking advantage of Singapore’s geographical position. Malaysia and Batam, an Indonesian island, are just an hour away, so I used to visit them for a weekend getaway.

Nowadays, after work, I usually spend time with my friends, playing tennis or yoga. I also enjoy hiking on weekends.

I hope that in the near future, the pandemic will go away, and we all can travel freely again.

Down the pipeline

Our team’s success comes from its open and diverse culture, technological expertise, and passion for growth. We will continue to meet the needs of our customers, embrace emerging technology, and define industry standards.

Stay tuned for our next employee spotlight article to meet even more members of our growing staff here at SK hynix!

The post [Employee Spotlight Series]: Getting to Know Higineers Around the World first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.