Trust system must protect firm’s secrets in Suzhou

SUZHOU, China ― At lunchtime, young women gather on a large grass field amid the large rectangular buildings that make up Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Suzhou. Most of the employees are women. The company’s fourth assembly line is set to begin operating in the first half of this year.
The products made in Suzhou are marked “Made in China, die from Korea” because the wafers (die) are produced in Korea and assembled in China. Workers at the plant are in charge of trimming the wafers into chips, attaching the chips to a package, testing the chips for memory and speed in various temperature conditions and more. It takes four days to finish the entire process.
About 3,500 locals and 19 Koreans dispatched from headquarters work here. The Chinese employees ― whose wages are in the top 20 percent among firms in the Suzhou Industrial Park ― learn about the Samsung culture and also have a chance to become senior officials. Before being promoted, Chinese employees are encouraged to learn Korean to communicate with headquarters and some are sent to Korea for education.
Although many people in Korea worry about so-called technology leaks resulting from moving production facilities to China, Bang Jeong-ho, the head of Samsung Suzhou, said this is not a problem.
“We have very strong security, but we can’t control what people have in their heads. That’s where the trust factor comes in. We try to engage people so that they feel that Samsung is their company, not a foreign company,” Bang said.
Although the company enjoys the benefits given to firms in the industrial zone and makes efforts to localize its operations, some factors pose potential threats.
The biggest is the Chinese government’s plan to force companies in the industrial zone to allow labor unions. This clause is to be enforced in 2012 and is a problem for Samsung because its subsidiaries cannot have labor unions as part of company policy.
In addition, the tax on foreign corporations ― which is now only 15 percent ― will be raised to 25 percent in a few years.

By Wohn Dong-hee Staff Writer [wohn@joongang.co.kr]