SK hynix Vice President Seungyong Doh, head of Digital Transformation (DT), has received the prestigious Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in the ICT Development sector. Doh was presented with the award at the 2025 Science and ICT Day Ceremony held on April 21 at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Center in Seoul.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) co-host the annual event and awards ceremony to mark Science Day (April 21) and ICT Day (April 22). The event aims to instill pride in industry professionals and raise awareness of the importance of science and technology. At this year’s event, held under the slogan “Leading the Digital Transformation with AI, Pioneering the Future Through Science and Technology,” individuals who contributed to the advancement of the nation’s science and ICT sectors were presented with awards across various categories.
Doh was recognized for his contributions to strengthening the market competitiveness of HBM1 and other memory products by establishing a smart factory system based on AI and DT, as well as for advancing the technological capabilities of Korea’s manufacturing industry.
1High Bandwidth Memory (HBM): A high-value, high-performance product that significantly enhances data processing speeds compared to conventional DRAMs by vertically stacking multiple DRAM chips. There are six generations of HBM, starting with the original HBM and followed by HBM2, HBM2E, HBM3, HBM3E, and HBM4.
(From left) South Korea’s acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and SK hynix Vice President Doh
His major contributions include improving HBM productivity and reducing development time by establishing an HBM-oriented smart factory system, as well as implementing AI-driven task automation and a total monitoring system. In addition, he achieved quality innovation through an AI-based virtual measurement system enabling quality inspections for every wafer and enhanced equipment utilization by 30% after establishing a global operating system for EUV2 equipment.
2Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV): A lithography technology that uses short wavelengths of light (extreme ultraviolet). It is used in equipment that etches circuit patterns onto wafers.
Overall, Doh has led manufacturing IT innovation and developed a smart factory system, successfully completing SK hynix’s AI-based digital transformation. Moving forward, SK hynix plans to continue developing this system and applying it to the company’s manufacturing sites to enhance the productivity and quality of key products, further solidifying its market leadership.
Smart Factories: Enhancing Productivity & Quality to Boost HBM Revenue
Doh, a manufacturing technology expert with 27 years of experience, has been leading the digital transformation of SK hynix’s manufacturing sites since joining the company in 2020. Over the past five years, he has made significant contributions to the company. In particular, he has established an AI-based smart factory and introduced various monitoring and automation systems which have had a significant impact on Korea’s manufacturing industry.
“I believe that all our achievements are the result of the dedication and passion of our team members,” he said. “Even when faced with challenges such as the recent memory industry downturn, our team worked together to find solutions. I dedicate this award to them and would like to express my sincere gratitude for their efforts. I consider this award as a sign to continue improving our manufacturing competitiveness, and I will do my utmost to achieve this goal, leading by example.”
When asked about the key achievement that led to the award, Doh pointed to the HBM smart factory system. Above all, he emphasized the hybrid production process.
“With the rapid rise of generative AI, demand for HBM and 3DS3 products has surged dramatically. Despite urgent investments in HBM production equipment, it was not easy to fully meet customer demand,” Doh revealed. “To address this, the back-end processing and DT departments built a hybrid production system by repurposing existing packaging line equipment. This approach maximized production flexibility, enabling us to respond effectively to HBM demand without large-scale additional equipment investments, and contributed to increased sales. I believe that without DT technology, it would have been impossible to rapidly establish such a hybrid system in a short period of time.”
33D Stacked Memory (3DS): A high-bandwidth memory product that is packaged by connecting two or more DRAM chips via through-silicon via (TSV). Unlike 3DS, HBM is supplied to the system company before packaging is completed, and it is then packaged with logic chips such as GPUs.
The HBM smart factory system includes features such as integrated planning and scheduling across front-end and back-end processes and low-vibration transport control. These innovations have significantly contributed to improving both the productivity and quality of HBM products. “We increased productivity by 31% in processes that had previously experienced bottlenecks, and improved yield by 21%,” Doh explained. “As a result, it significantly contributed to a 4.5-fold increase in HBM sales in 2024 compared to the previous year.”
Another key achievement highlighted by Doh is the implementation of advanced design automation technology. “We introduced a new design simulation methodology for future products such as HBM4, which was expected to require a significantly longer development period due to its complexity compared to HBM3E,” he said. “This allowed us to significantly shorten the development timeline and, thanks to the technological expertise of the DT department, SK hynix was able to lay the groundwork for maintaining its technological leadership in the next-generation AI memory market.”
The establishment of a global operation system through integration between the development and mass production departments and overseas subsidiaries on EUV equipment was another significant milestone.
“We have established a system that allows high-cost EUV equipment, which is essential for memory manufacturing, to be shared and collaborated on across multiple production lines, research departments, and even overseas production subsidiaries,” he explained. “All of this can be done without physically moving the equipment, as if you were working with a single piece of equipment. This has accelerated the transition from new product development to mass production and improved the utilization rate of EUV equipment. I believe this would not have been possible without DT technology.”
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Doh improved engineers’ work efficiency and significantly enhanced the utilization of materials, components, and equipment. These successes were all made possible through AI and DT technologies.
“Many tasks that once relied on engineers’ experiential judgment and manual actions have now been automated using AI and DT technologies,” Doh said. “As a result, engineers have been freed from repetitive, low-value work and can now focus on core tasks that generate higher added value, such as process improvement. In particular, the AI-based defect image analysis system has drastically reduced the time required for defect analysis, while the automation of maintenance tasks has minimized equipment downtime, enabling a significant increase in wafer output. We also established an integrated quality control system for equipment, wafers, and materials which reduces unnecessary tasks and helps prevent potential incidents related to equipment and materials. Moreover, our AI-powered virtual metrology4 technology, which leverages granular data generated from equipment, has also enabled a breakthrough: detecting and inspecting quality anomalies across all wafers without increasing the total production time for finished products.”
4Virtual metrology: The use of predictive models and algorithms to estimate the characteristics and outcomes of manufacturing processes without direct physical measurements. This approach leverages real-time process data and advanced analytics to optimize production, enhance yield, and reduce costs.
Meanwhile, the significance of Doh’s work extends beyond SK hynix, as his approaches are now being adopted across the broader Korean manufacturing industry. “We are supporting SK Group affiliates in building their own smart factory systems by transferring our best practices,” Doh added. “If these experiences and technologies continue to be adopted by more companies, it will significantly enhance the overall technological capability and competitiveness of Korea’s manufacturing sector.”
Regarding the challenges ahead, he stated: “To achieve a fully AI-powered smart factory across the entire manufacturing process, it’s vital to embrace the spirit of relentless challenge and innovation without fear of failure, combined with meticulous execution to minimize trial and error.” He also called on team members to maintain strong, ongoing collaboration as ‘one-team’.
“To build a more advanced, AI-driven smart factory across all areas of manufacturing based on our current success, we must come together, share creative ideas and solutions, and generate strong synergy through close collaboration,” he stated. “Just as we have done so well so far, I hope we will continue to unite our efforts with a strong ‘one-team’ spirit as we work toward achieving our goals.“
Lastly, Doh shared his vision for advancing beyond AI-driven manufacturing innovation toward the intelligent transformation of the entire company, reaffirming his commitment to making this vision a reality.
“SK hynix will continue to drive innovation by deeply integrating AI across its manufacturing operations and achieve its goal of becoming a full stack AI memory provider leading the AI era,” he said. “Ultimately, we will optimize and intelligently transform the entire value chain, extending beyond manufacturing to include research and development, supply chain management, marketing, and customer support. In doing so, we will work toward the larger goal of building an intelligent enterprise that goes beyond just a smart factory. Together with our team, we will strive with even greater dedication to achieve this goal.”
