Micron widens Seoul hiring push as bonus gap with Samsung, SK hynix grows

U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology, the world’s third-largest memory maker, is set to hold a three-day recruiting event in Seoul next month, opening it for the first time to engineers with up to two years of experience.

The move puts Micron in direct competition with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix for early-career engineers as the memory supercycle intensifies the race for talent.

Micron’s Taiwan unit will interview applicants on-site at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, from Nov. 23 to 25, industry sources said Sunday. Those hired will work at Micron’s fabs in Taiwan, which produce more than 60 percent of the company’s dynamic random-access memory (DRAM).

The event marks a shift in how Micron recruits in Korea. In past years, the company gathered applications in advance and held one-day interviews on university campuses, deciding on hires after a single round. It visited Pusan National University, Kyungpook National University and Konkuk University in 2024, and Seoul National University, Korea University and Hanyang University last year.

This year, Micron moved the event to Coex, a large exhibition center, and extended it to three days. It is also looking beyond students about to graduate from university or graduate school, the focus of its past recruiting, to workers with up to two years of experience, a move seen as an effort to draw engineers who have already gained hands-on experience at rival companies.

Hundreds of applicants turned out for Micron’s campus interviews last year, and a large turnout is expected again this year as the company’s earnings improve and it offers more generous pay. Micron announced Thursday a new profit-linked bonus program for employees worldwide. Representatives from Micron’s headquarters also reportedly visited Korea several times last month to review recruitment and the supply chain.

But Micron faces a tougher pitch than in past years, largely because of pay. Bonuses at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have surged on the back of the memory boom, widening the gap with Micron. Industry watchers expect bonuses at the two Korean chipmakers to reach 700 million to 800 million won ($530,000 to $604,000), compared with around 150 million won at Micron.

When the bonus gap among the three memory makers was narrower, the perks of working overseas stood out more. Many saw building experience and language skills at a foreign chipmaker and then moving to a U.S. Big Tech company as a strong career path, and families relocating abroad also valued overseas education for their children. During a strike at Samsung Electronics earlier this year, a Samsung employee drew attention by posting on the company’s internal message board urging colleagues to move to Micron.

That sentiment has since cooled. “Among job seekers these days, people even say ‘sam-ha-tteol-ma,’” said a doctoral-level applicant from Seoul National University surnamed Park, referring to slang for going to Micron after failing to get into Samsung Electronics or SK hynix. “As treatment at Korean companies has improved, the sentiment that there’s no need to go to a foreign company has grown stronger.” 

The shift was on display at the Semiconductor Exhibition 2026, held at Coex from Oct. 14 to 16, where job seekers packed the Samsung Electronics and SK hynix booths.

The Korean chipmakers are also stepping up their own hiring. Samsung Electronics and 18 other Samsung affiliates administered the Global Samsung Aptitude Test for second-half recruitment on Saturday and Sunday. The group plans to hire 60,000 new employees over the next five years, expanding its work force in chips, components and future growth areas such as AI and biotechnology.

Samsung Electronics is also reworking pay for its core staff. It plans to group next-generation DRAM and NAND flash developers at its semiconductor research and development (R&D) center into a “Core Team” that would receive the same level of bonuses as the Memory Business division if it meets development targets. R&D center staff have previously been classified as a shared organization and received special performance bonuses at about 70 percent of the Memory Business division’s level.

SK hynix has overhauled its hiring requirements and evaluation process. After scrapping all education requirements in June, the company replaced its 20- to 30-minute interviews with half-day in-depth sessions combining assignments and interviews, starting with its current entry-level hiring round. It also eliminated cover letters and introduced a separate form assessing applicants’ AI skills and chip expertise, aiming to select talent for the AI chip race based on actual problem-solving skills rather than academic background or resumes.

BY LEE YOUNG-KEUN [[email protected]]