Samsung's severe loss of PhD talent: Korean media criticizes 'few geniuses controlling everything' due to incompetence

Samsung Electronics is facing a critical exodus of key engineers, with a particularly alarming rate of departure among those holding doctoral degrees in the semiconductor division. This trend has fueled growing concerns about the company's future competitiveness and its ability to innovate in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

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The past problem was that executives from the memory division completely misunderstood the foundry business, but recently, the bigger problem is that external leaders know nothing about the overall process beyond the specific process they are in charge of.

Interviews with former Samsung semiconductor engineers reveal a pattern of dissatisfaction stemming from flawed personnel decisions. Many point to a management style that is described as conservative and detached from practical realities, with decisions often made in a top-down manner. This approach, coupled with a perceived lack of consideration for individual expertise, has led to engineers being assigned roles unrelated to their specialized skills.

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The company's organizational culture has not changed from 15 years ago to now.

Furthermore, the semiconductor division's autonomy and specialized expertise have reportedly diminished since business support teams increased their control over personnel and finances. This has created a crisis within the division, impacting even research and development and facility investments, which now require thorough reviews. The situation is especially worrying for the system LSI and foundry sectors, which have underperformed compared to the memory division and suffer from poorer working conditions and treatment, leading to a significant drop in morale.

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Incompetent team leaders, in order to protect their positions, did not correctly evaluate excellent talents.

Former employees express a widespread sentiment that the company has lost the "speed" and "flexibility" crucial for the artificial intelligence era. The rigid, top-down decision-making structure is seen as a hindrance to innovation. While Samsung boasts a wealth of talent, critics argue that the mechanisms to effectively utilize this talent in appropriate roles have eroded, leading to a situation where "a few geniuses control the whole picture" due to managerial incompetence.

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To build products suitable for the AI era, speed and focus are paramount, but the top-down decision-making structure of large companies like Samsung hinders innovation.