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Thanks to HBM4, chipmaker declares 'Samsung is back' in New Year messages from vice chair, president

Published: 02 Jan. 2026, 14:49 Updated: 02 Jan. 2026, 17:41

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, left, and Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics claimed that the Korean chipmaker earned back its technological competitiveness in memory with high client evaluation marks for sixth-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM4) chips in its New Year’s message on Friday.

“We have earned customer feedback that ‘Samsung is back’ with HBM4’s differentiated competitiveness,” said Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, who oversees the company’s semiconductor division, in a press statement Friday.

“We must, for sure, restore our fundamental technological leadership in memory. The foundry business has entered a phase of full-scale growth: Grounded in technology and trust, we must turn opportunity into tangible achievements.”

Jun stressed the need to become a customer-oriented organization from a product-centric one.

Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon’s key goal for 2026 was AI transformation.

“AI transformation is not merely a tool — it is a fundamental shift in how we think and work,” he said. “By embedding AI into our workflows and decision-making, we must innovate the way we operate, accelerating speed and productivity.”

Samsung’s technology and proactive risk-management expertise, Roh added, could turn crises into opportunities. Roh also stressed the qualities of agility and flexibility across all management activities to sense market changes in real time.

SK hynix CEO and President Kwak Noh-jung [SK HYNIX]

Downtown rival chipmaker SK hynix, who had a memorable year in 2025 that saw it strengthen its memory leadership, said the company achieved “its best performance ever” during the period, delivering growth across both quality and scale, according to SK hynix President and CEO Kwak Noh-jung.

“SK hynix is now recognized as a market leader across key areas, and the roles and responsibilities expected of the company have also grown accordingly,” Kwak continued. “While maintaining core management strategy centered on technological leadership and profitability, grounded in the SK Management System, the company must also commit sufficient investment and effort for its future.”

Kwak labeled SK hynix as a “full stack AI memory creator” and similar to Samsung’s approach, urged employees to come up with creative ways to best fulfill what customers value.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]