Bain dealmaker: South Korea's chaebol structure gives Samsung and SK Hynix lasting edge over Japan's chip industry

South Korean semiconductor firms Samsung and SK Hynix maintain a structural advantage over Japanese rivals due to their chaebol ownership model, which enables top-down leadership and sustained investment. This is according to Yuji Sugimoto, who led Bain Capital's acquisition of Toshiba Memory (now Kioxia) in 2018. Sugimoto argues that Kioxia's successful turnaround depended on its independence from Toshiba, but Japan still lacks the conglomerate-driven investment model that powers South Korea's chip industry.