Korean Court Blocks Former Samsung Engineers from Working at SK Hynix Until 2027

A South Korean court has sided with Samsung Electronics in a high-stakes dispute over talent poaching, ruling that two former NAND flash memory engineers cannot work for rival SK Hynix until April 30, 2027.

The Suwon District Court partially granted Samsung’s injunction request, which sought to enforce a two-year non-compete agreement against the two engineers. The court instead imposed an 18-month restriction, acknowledging Samsung’s concerns about protecting trade secrets in a technology it classified as “national core technology” under Korean law.

According to court filings reviewed by local media, the two engineers spent 10 to 11 years in Samsung’s memory division, deeply involved in NAND flash design work. They left the company in February and landed at SK Hynix, Samsung’s archrival in the global memory chip market.

Samsung argued that the engineers possessed sensitive technical knowledge about NAND flash design — the core technology behind solid-state drives and data center memory — and that their move to a direct competitor posed an existential risk to its competitive edge. The company pointed to a non-compete clause both engineers had signed during their tenure.

The court agreed that NAND flash design skills qualified as “national core technology,” a designation under South Korea’s Industrial Technology Protection Act that carries heightened legal protections. But it stopped short of Samsung’s full demand, trimming the restriction from 24 months to 18.

The ruling reflects a broader anxiety among South Korea’s semiconductor giants, who dominate a global memory market worth over $200 billion annually. Samsung and SK Hynix collectively control roughly 90 percent of the world’s NAND flash production. Both companies have been aggressively investing in new fabs and R&D, and the competition for experienced talent has intensified.

This is not an isolated case. South Korean chipmakers have become increasingly aggressive about enforcing non-compete agreements in recent years, particularly as the industry grapples with a chronic shortage of engineers skilled in advanced semiconductor design. The Suwon court’s ruling could set a precedent for how far companies can go to lock in their talent — and how much mobility engineers in critical technology sectors can expect.