Samsung Electronics Fostering R&D, Design Centers Abroad

Goh Gwang-il of Samsung Electronics’ Telecommunications Research Center went on a business trip to Poland.

“Overseas R&D centers are in charge of mobile phone testing, software management and R&D activities to launch products to cater to local consumers,” he said. “Outstanding talent is the most significant asset.”

Samsung had run a small research team for digital televisions and set-top boxes in Warsaw since 2000, sending mobile phone researchers there from August last year.

With the team getting bigger, the electronics giants upgraded the research team into an R&D center and held an opening ceremony attended by the telecommunications research center’s vice president Choi Byeong-deok and Korean Ambassador to Poland Lee Shi-hyeong in June.

The Samsung research center in Warsaw has five Korean employees and around 300 Poles holding master’s degrees and doctorates. An additional 100 researchers will be hired.

As the center in Warsaw gets bigger, the role of testing Samsung’s mobile phones scheduled for launch in the European market has been transferring from Germany to Poland.

Goh said, “Poland’s infrastructure is inferior to those of advanced European economies, but the potential of researchers is beyond imagination.”

In Poland, the most talented students choose to major in engineering over medicine and law. Moreover, Polish engineers earn twice as much as doctors and three times as much as teachers, and receive many tax breaks.

Warsaw University of Technology is one of Europe’s top colleges attracting the best students.

More Samsung researchers have gone Poland to work. Some stay for two weeks while others work for three months. Koreans living in Poland have rushed to open Korean restaurants and accommodations nearby the research center.

Samsung Electronics is also moving to gain a bigger share in emerging Asian markets.

The company’s R&D center in the Indian city of Bangalore has also grown dramatically, with the number of researchers jumping 70 percent from 1,200 in July last year to around 2,000.

In China, around 900 researchers are studying communications, semiconductors and software in Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

Samsung Electronics director Kim Byeong-cheol said, “We have to secure global talent and invest more into R&D to develop advanced technologies ahead of our competitors.”

Korea’s largest electronics maker plans to open R&D centers in Eastern Europe, India and Pakistan, adding design force to its six design centers located in the United States and Britain.

Jeong Guk-hyeon, vice president of Samsung’s design center, said, “India, Pakistan and Eastern Europe have emerged as potential markets. We’re planning to establish new design centers in these markets and hire experts locally to provide customized products for local consumers.”

drake007@donga.com