ED Brain drain to China
Extraordinary measures needed to safeguard talented workers
Korea's key export industries such as batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and semiconductors are struggling with China's headlong rush to scout members of their workforce. Concerns are growing that unless the brain drain is checked, Korea's high-tech sector will lose its technical superiority to China much sooner than expected.
According to a report released by the Korea International Trade Association, Chinese companies have been courting Korea's high-tech engineers, offering hefty salaries and welfare benefits. CATL, the world's largest EV battery maker in China, offers paychecks three to four times those paid in Korea. BYD, another battery powerhouse in China, offers fringe benefits including cars and apartments in addition to handsome salaries.
China's DRAM maker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. (JHICC) bluntly specified its preferential treatment for experienced personnel from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix when it posted job openings earlier this year. Chinese chipmakers hire Korean engineers and let them belong to their subsidiaries to avoid a clause banning a change of jobs within the same field. Some Chinese battery makers have capitalized on the legal dispute between LG Chem and SK Innovation to hunt for excellent manpower from the two companies.
China's massive manpower scouting is nothing new, but the brain drain of professional engineers in flagship industries will certainly result in a draining of the “national wealth” and undermining the country's industrial competitiveness. In fact, there seem to be no good ideas to prevent the outflow of talented workers, given the freedom of occupational choice. Yet Korea can ill afford to sit idly by, simply looking at the accelerating brain drain.
What's most urgent is for each company to do its utmost to safeguard excellent workers. Companies must revamp their flawed reward systems and rigid organizational cultures. The government, for its part, needs to be proactive in consideration of the severity of the problem. Specifically, it's imperative to establish a comprehensive set of measures to prevent the brain drain and attract top talent from abroad.