SK Hynix Inc. increased its workforce by more than 2,000 last year due to rising demand for memory chips.
SK Hynix Inc. had 34,549 employees at the end of 2025, up 2,159 from a year earlier. Samsung Electronics Co.'s Device Solutions division had 78,064 employees, slightly down from 78,699.
The combined chip-related workforce at the two companies reached 112,613, an increase of 1,554. The rise came amid an unprecedented boom in demand for AI infrastructure.
In May, South Korea lost 40,000 jobs from a year earlier, the first decline in 17 months. Yang Jun-sok, a professor at the Catholic University of Korea, said industries are in a slump except for semiconductors.