Complacency in Korea is leading to a brain drain to China

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Complacency in Korea is leading to a brain drain to China

Published: 24 Apr. 2025, 17:12 Updated: 24 Apr. 2025, 18:44

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

An illustration of China's scientific development [JOONGANG ILBO]

Korea is losing its top scientists to China.

Two of Korea’s most renowned scientists, the country’s first and second “National Scholars" — or "Star Faculty," a designation bestowed upon researchers who have attained international recognition — have recently joined Chinese universities, raising concerns that Korea is failing to retain key talent in fundamental science, particularly in strategically vital areas like semiconductors, batteries and quantum technologies.

While the United States and China compete for dominance in cutting-edge technology, China is accelerating its research and development (R&D) capabilities by recruiting top researchers from abroad. Meanwhile, Korea appears to lack both the strategy and political will to hold on to its top talent.

According to academic and industry sources, Lee Young-hee, a globally recognized expert in carbon nanotube (CNT) research and a chair professor of high-consistency rubber at Sungkyunkwan University, has taken a post at Hubei University of Technology in China, where he now leads a semiconductor and quantum research institute.

Lee previously served as the director of nanostructure physics at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), but after retiring from his Korean position without securing a stable research post, he accepted an offer from China.

Professors Lee Young-hee, left and Lee Ki-myeong [JOONGANG ILBO]

In 2024, theoretical physicist Lee Ki-myeong, former vice president of the Korea Institute for Advanced Study, also moved to China after retirement. He joined the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications as a professor.

Both Lee Young-hee and Lee Ki-myeong were designated Star Faculty by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation in 2005 and 2006, respectively. While Korea is failing to provide proper footing for its top geniuses, China is doubling down on the hunt for scientists and engineers amid the technology war engulfing the world.

Korea said 'no,' China said 'thank you'

When Prof. Lee Young-hee's tenure ended in 2023, the IBS shut down his nanostructure physics research center.

Prior to 2023, the lab, led by Lee from 2012, was among the global leaders in CNTs, graphene, 2-D semiconductor structures and water-splitting catalysts. He has ranked in the top 1 percent of the most-cited scientists since 2018.

An illustration of the Korean peninsula drawn onto a semiconductor wafer [JOONGANG ILBO]

But under IBS rules, research centers are tied to a principal investigator holding a full-time university post in Korea. Lee’s retirement triggered the closure of the entire nanostructure physics center in late 2023, displacing some 20 researchers who have since scattered to various institutions.

The professor had continued his work as a nontenured chair professor at Sungkyunkwan University, but that contract will end in August. He submitted several proposals to Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT in hopes of continuing his work in Korea, but those plans were ultimately rejected.

Lee declined to comment when contacted by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

After his move, Hubei University of Technology in Wuhan established a 17,200-square-meter (185,000-square-foot) research facility dedicated to low-dimensional quantum materials. It is actively recruiting researchers to join his team with offers of advanced equipment, annual salaries of 260,000 yuan ($36,000), and separate allowances for housing and startup costs. Research areas include 2-D semiconductors and solar cells.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on April 26, 2018. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

China's global hunt for talent

China’s drive to recruit world-class talent is nothing new.

In 2021, the U.S. Congressional Research Service reported that while most countries focus on controlling the exodus of applied technologies, China had prioritized bringing in fundamental science talent under its 14th Five-Year Plan spanning 2021–2025.

In January, a Chinese research team published a paper claiming an algorithm that could theoretically boost the performance of older Nvidia GPUs by a factor of 800 — enough to run advanced aerospace or defense calculations on consumer-grade hardware. What surprised observers even more was that the paper came from a relatively unknown institution: Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, a joint venture between Moscow State University and the Beijing Institute of Technology launched in 2017.

At the Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, professors from Moscow State teach Chinese students, and the students learn Russian to understand their teachers. The city of Shenzhen offers a wide array of benefits for faculty, including paychecks that are double to triple the average of Chinese professors.

"This way, China fast absorbs the excellent basic science education system of Russia," said Kim Jung-keun, a professor at the Shenzhen MSU-BIT University.

A wafer manufactured by YMTC [YMTC]

The city, often dubbed China’s Silicon Valley, has become a hub for new research institutions, with branches opening at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014, the Harbin Institute of Technology in 2016, Sun Yat-sen University in 2020 and joint research centers with Tsinghua University and Georgia Tech opening in 2014 and 2020, respectively. These graduates often go on to work for companies like Huawei.

On April 15, the Donald Trump administration blocked exports of Nvidia’s H20 chip to China, but it was Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang — not Chinese authorities — who expressed the most concern, warning that blocking access to the country will only compel Beijing to accelerate internal development, which could overtake the likes of Nvidia. Chinese chipmakers like Huawei and Cambricon continue to innovate through design, materials science and algorithm development, blunting the effects of U.S. sanctions.

China's secret checkbook for Korea

China’s rapid R&D development is also starting to pressure Korea’s semiconductor sector.

In March, Chinese media reported that Samsung Electronics was using a NAND bonding technology patented by local manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC).

Korean experts weren’t surprised.

"YMTC was the first in the industry to apply bonding technology to mass production," said a researcher at a domestic memory research institute. "They're recruiting so many Ph.D.-level researchers that the speed is terrifying."

A wafer manufactured by TSMC is on display at the 26th SEDEX semiconductor fair on Oct. 23, 2024, in southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

“China’s R&D strategy is like a relay race," said a Seoul National University professor. "If one researcher collapses, another picks up the baton. You can’t compete with that scale.”

Among Korean engineering professors, talk of Chinese recruitment offers is growing. Professors with patents in semiconductors, electronics and materials report receiving detailed proposals from Chinese universities.

“It was like a travel brochure — listing how much you’d get in salary and research funds by region or province," said an engineering professor in a university in Seoul. "Some even offered lump-sum payments if you brought your whole lab.”

The professor turned down the offer due to involvement in national projects, but "their offer was shocking and tempting."

Korea must do better

While China aggressively expands R&D, Korea’s semiconductor talent strategy centers on increasing undergraduate admissions to industry-linked departments.

This is far from enough, according to experts.

“Trying to train semiconductor experts at the undergraduate level is nonsense," said a professor from KAIST involved in semiconductor training.

Four years isn’t enough to build the foundation in math and engineering, and faculty numbers are too limited to facilitate serious curriculum development, according to the professor.

“We need to expand master's-level programs for semiconductor research," said Lee Hi-deok, an engineering professor at Chungnam National University. "That’s where we’ll see real industrial benefit.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SHIM SEO-HYUN [[email protected]]