Samsung's Han Jin-man Vows to Catch TSMC "Even If It Takes 10 or 20 Years" After Chairman's Taunt

Samsung Electronics' foundry chief Han Jin-man fired back at TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei after Wei dismissed competitors' ambitions to catch the Taiwanese chip giant as "a dream." Speaking at an AI ecosystem event in Seoul, Han declared Samsung would realize its own dream "whether it takes 10 or 20 years." The exchange highlights the intensifying rivalry in the global foundry market, where TSMC commands a dominant 73% share in Q1 2026, up from 69% a year earlier, while Samsung slipped to 7% from 9%. TSMC's lead has been fueled by surging AI chip demand and its advanced CoWoS packaging technology. Samsung is betting on a major Tesla AI chip contract worth 22.76 trillion won (approximately $14.9 billion), growing customer relationships with AMD and Qualcomm, and synergies between its memory and foundry businesses through HBM4. A former TSMC executive, Yang Guang-lei, advised that Samsung must spin off its foundry unit and fundamentally reshape its corporate culture to compete effectively. Industry watchers are eyeing a potential return to profitability for Samsung's foundry business in Q4.

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