SK hynix's new corporate center chief faces Solidigm funding challenge

Attention is turning to what tasks await Yoon Poong-young following Yoon's appointment as president of SK hynix's Corporate Center, the unit overseeing strategy and finance. The outgoing head, Song Hyun-jong, had led the center to a landmark achievement in July when SK hynix completed its American depositary receipt listing on NASDAQ.

Yoon brings broad experience in strategy and finance accumulated across SK Telecom, SK Square and holding company SK. Yoon is also well known for having handled the operational work behind SK Telecom's acquisition of SK hynix in 2012. Having served as chief financial officer of SK Telecom, Yoon is widely expected to make securing financing for Solidigm's US investment the top priority.

According to SK hynix, Yoon, who had been serving concurrently as a member of the SK Supex Council and head of SK hynix's Global Growth Task Force, was appointed president of the Corporate Center on Thursday.

Song, the outgoing Corporate Center president, is expected to remain at the company in an advisory role supporting CEO Kwak Noh-jung. Song had led the Corporate Center since its establishment in 2024, overseeing a unit created directly under the CEO to serve as a company-wide support and control tower covering strategy, finance, corporate culture and procurement.

Inside and outside the company, Song's crowning achievement is widely regarded as the ADR listing in July. SK hynix, which had been preparing for a US NASDAQ listing since last year, accelerated the process this year and raised $26.5 billion — the largest amount ever raised in a US initial public offering by a foreign company. Song is said to have led the key decision-making behind the ADR listing.

With a successor now in place, Song will stay on at the company to support the CEO.

The career paths of incoming president Yoon and outgoing president Song bear a striking resemblance — both built their core careers in strategy and finance. Song, a Seoul National University economics graduate who joined SK Telecom in 2003, held a series of senior roles including head of investor relations, head of the growth strategy group, head of future management and head of management support.

When SK Telecom acquired SK hynix in 2012, Song moved to the semiconductor unit, where Song served as head of the future strategy division and took on marketing and sales responsibilities.

Yoon studied mechanical engineering at Yonsei University and holds an MBA from INSEAD in France. Joining SK Telecom in 2007, Yoon worked in the business development division and is well known for having taken part in the operational work of the SK hynix acquisition. Yoon later moved to SK C&C, serving as head of the planning division and head of business development.

Yoon subsequently returned to SK Telecom, where Yoon served as head of the corporate center and CFO. After that, Yoon served as chief investment officer of SK Square in 2021 and as president of SK's AX division in 2023, before taking up the role of Supex Council president in November last year.

Given Yoon's reputation as a strategy and investment specialist within the group, the immediate expectation is that Yoon will take the lead in securing financing for Solidigm. According to Bloomberg, Solidigm is in talks with the US Department of Commerce about investing $45 billion to build a new NAND factory in the United States, with New York state mentioned as a candidate site. A groundbreaking as early as next year has been raised as a possibility.

The original plan had been to raise most of the funds through a Solidigm IPO, but the listing was withdrawn in light of opposition to a dual listing and the current climate for semiconductor investment.

With equity issuance now off the table, SK hynix will need to consider a range of alternatives, including a capital increase by the parent company or direct borrowing by Solidigm itself.

Securing financing for Solidigm's US investment is also a pressing issue at the company level. At the earnings conference call Wednesday, CEO Kwak appeared in person to address the question of the Solidigm listing.

"Solidigm will continue to strengthen its competitiveness in the AI data center storage market and pursue growth opportunities," Kwak said. "Investment and financing plans to that end will be pursued in a manner consistent with enhancing the corporate and shareholder value of both Solidigm and SK hynix."

Yoon's extensive mergers and acquisitions experience also means Yoon is expected to be involved in investment decisions related to AI companies. SK hynix established a dedicated entity in February to invest directly in the US AI data center ecosystem. SK Telecom, SK and SK Innovation have also pledged capital contributions, with the group pursuing synergies through joint investment.