China Has Recruited South Korean Semiconductor Researcher And Appointed Him Head Of Quantum Materials Research After He Was Unable To Find A Suitable Position In His Home Country
The Hubei University of Technology, located in Wuhan, has appointed a South Korean senior researcher, Lee Young-hee, who is now pursuing low-dimensional quantum materials study in China. The work is currently being carried out at a research centre, with a report stating that the facility was established to develop ‘new materials, new energy, optoelectronics, information technology, biomedical fields and related industries in Hubei province.’
Lee’s position is said to be a full-time role, and one of the reasons he chose to move to another region was that he could not take up a suitable position in South Korea. The latest appointment is just one of the many instances where China is aggressively hiring talent from overseas markets to catalyze its semiconductor ambitions. While the research being conducted by Lee Young-hee might not be to establish dominance in the current-generation market, perhaps for the next decade.
The South Korean researcher believes that quantum materials would nurture young talent and bring other advantages to the table
The university granted Lee Young-hee the new position in November of last year, with South China Morning Post stating that the researcher has also been a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2021. While it can be assumed that the authorities attempted to poach the South Korean national to boost the country’s national interest, Lee decided for himself that he wished to relocate to China after he could not secure a senior position in his home country after retirement.
The semiconductor expert also submitted a research plan to South Korea’s science ministry to continue his research on his home turf, but looking at the way things materialized, it appears that his submission might have been rejected or not taken seriously. At the Hubei University of Technology, Lee was quoted as saying that he hopes the centre brings scientific expertise together, along with sharing resources with local and overseas universities and nurture young talent.
Prior to his retirement, Lee was a chair professor and director of the Centre for Integrated Nanostructure Physics at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon, south of Seoul, where he had worked since 2001. There is no word if any relevant South Korean ministry has taken note of Lee’s new role, so we cannot comment on whether there will be rising tensions between the two countries because of this. Earlier, we reported that engineers of Chinese descent have returned to their home countries after resigning from their positions at Apple.
Some of these appointments were done on the applicant’s own accord, but there are times when companies have resorted to crooked tactics. For instance, Huawei has been reported to have poached TSMC employees, offering them triple their current salary if they leave their existing positions.
News Source: South China Morning Post
