April 24, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] SK hynix hired Chung Tae-seong, a former Samsung Electronics executive, as its new NAND chip business chief late last year, industry sources confirmed on March 17. 

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SK hynix receives new deal conditions from Toshiba 


Despite its competitiveness in DRAM chips for short-term data storage, the chipmaker has not yet secured a firm footing in NAND chips whose demand is soaring recently for long-term data storage of Internet of Things, cloud and big data services.

Industry watchers say SK hynix aims to strengthen its NAND business by hiring the specialist from Samsung, the world’s No. 1 memory chipmaker.

Chung worked for about 20 years at Samsung’s memory chip business. Before resigning in 2014, he served as head of the device and system research center at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. After that, he also taught at Yonsei University.

SK hynix currently depends almost 70 percent of its sales on DRAM chips. More recently, the chipmaker is seeking to acquire a sizeable stake in Toshiba’s NAND chip business to secure access to the Japanese rival’s advanced manufacturing technology.

In the meantime, Toshiba plans to sell most or all of its chip business and wants to raise at least 1 trillion yen (US$8.79 billion) amid its mounting financial losses from its failed nuclear power business in the US.

With the purchasing price soaring, sources say, Korean, Chinese and Japanese bidders are likely to form separate consortiums to acquire the lucrative business.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)