How PJ Electronics’ Agile and Reliable Design-to-Mass-Production Capabilities Enable EMS Success from Korea

The global EMS industry has experienced major turbulence due to semiconductor shortages, raw-material inflation, and unpredictable order patterns. How do you see the EMS industry recovering, and which segments appear most promising?

It has been a very difficult period for EMS companies. Semiconductor shortages, logistics delays, and sudden order cancellations have put enormous pressure on small and medium manufacturers.

However, these challenges have pushed the EMS industry toward specialization. I believe that companies focusing on technology-intensive, high-reliability manufacturing such as medical devices, AI-enabled systems, and specialized industrial electronics will be the ones that survive and grow.

Globally, EMS is shifting from simple production to development support, quality assurance, ESG compliance, and integrated operational packages. Companies capable of delivering these higher-value services will be the future leaders in EMS.

Last year, while the EMS market declined sharply in some regions like Europe, PJ Electronics achieved some growth reaching 169 billion KRW and even made strong 45% operating-profit growth. How were you able to achieve such strong results in a down market?

We face the same macro-pressures as everyone else, but our strategy has been to strengthen our internal fundamentals. We continuously review and upgrade internal processes, reduce unnecessary steps, and improve productivity through IT and automation.

Because EMS performance is directly linked to customer performance, we focus on what is within our control: standardizing workflows, lowering defect rates, and ensuring operational consistency. We are an older company, and over time certain processes became outdated. Improving those areas has strengthened our internal foundation and improved the quality and reliability of products we deliver to customers.

In recent years, many U.S. and European companies have been actively seeking non-Chinese production partners. In this geopolitical landscape, this creates unique opportunities for Korean SMEs to replace these Chinese vendors. What opportunities do you personally see emerging for Korean SMEs and yourself?

Since COVID-19, we’ve seen intensified U.S.–China tensions, and the rapid formation of economic blocs. As geopolitical risks grow, global supply chains are being restructured at a speed we’ve never experienced before.

With the rise of friend-shoring, trustworthiness and compliance have become the core selection criteria for global sourcing. Korean SMEs, which have strong reputations for quality, reliability, and disciplined execution, are gaining renewed attention. Companies like ours small but highly responsive and technically rigorous are finding this environment to be a real opportunity.

I see three major opportunities for Korean suppliers like us. First, direct export opportunities, which historically were limited to large Korean conglomerates but are now opening to SMEs. Second, entry into global Tier-1 and Tier-2 supply chains, as global firms diversify away from single-country sourcing. Third, technology collaboration and co-development, where we join projects from the early design stages rather than just executing assembly work.

Ultimately, SMEs must have a global mindset, strong communication capabilities, and internationally recognized quality certifications. With these fundamentals, Korean SMEs are well-positioned to take advantage of the current environment.

Now, when it comes to sizing these opportunities, the decisive factor will be trust. Competing purely on cost with China or Vietnam is unrealistic for Korean manufacturers. Instead, what global customers seek today is a partner they can rely on, one that delivers consistent quality, communicates transparently, and resolves issues quickly.

Our strength lies in offering customized, high-reliability production for each product, leveraging the know-how we have accumulated over years of manufacturing diverse products such as medical devices, automotive electronics, and robotics. We have standardized our processes, strengthened quality-traceability systems, and built real-time data-tracking capabilities for product history and testing. These systems enhance trust and allow us to function as a co-development partner rather than just a contract assembler.

Large overseas EMS companies often require customer engineers to step in when problems occur. But we work proactively diagnosing issues, solving problems internally, and providing detailed feedback so customers can make fast decisions. This responsiveness is one of our biggest competitive advantages.

PJ Electronics has historically been involved in the medical device market, which have seen recent evolution. Technologies are becoming more complex, supply chains are more global, and leading players like Olympus and major Korean conglomerates are reshaping the ecosystem. How do you assess the changes in the medical market, and its impact on your industry?

The medical sector has always been demanding, but complexity has increased significantly. Korea, China, and Southeast Asia used to divide the market into tiers premium, mid-range, and low-cost manufacturing. But today, global customers expect sophisticated manufacturing capability, regardless of geography.

We have long experience building medical and sensor-based products, and that expertise is creating opportunities for direct export to Europe and the U.S. As global EMS giants seek more diversified partners, Korean companies are gaining opportunities to manufacture higher-value, high-complexity products for major global brands.

Differentiation also matters. Large EMS companies overseas often lack the flexibility to respond quickly to design changes or production issues. Our strength is product-specific, tailored response. We diagnose issues internally and provide customers with actionable feedback, enabling fast problem resolution.

So the timing is right to diversify our technological capabilities and expand global partnerships, and our experience positions us well for that transition.

Shifting to automotive electronics: how have you leverage on your experience in the medical segment to foster competitiveness?

Internally, we spent a long time determining which sectors would drive our future. Medical devices naturally appealed because of long-term demographic trends. However, we saw big opportunity in automotive electronics due to the rise of EVs, IoT integration, and advanced digital systems.

Working with global automotive manufacturers has accelerated our learning curve. Through these partnerships, we improved our internal systems, strengthened process discipline, and expanded our technical depth. The automotive industry offers enormous possibilities across sensors, control modules, and digital components, and we feel our experience translates well into this environment.

Automotive electronics are advancing rapidly, from ADAS to EV platforms. Which technologies do you believe hold the strongest long-term potential?

ADAS continues to develop rapidly, but the areas I see with strong long-term potential are BMS-related technologies battery-management systems and environmental sensors, particularly those involved in emissions and air-quality monitoring. These components will only grow in importance as automotive platforms become more electrified and more intelligent.

PJ Electronics already exports to the U.S., Europe, China, and other markets. From a global perspective, what are your long-term ambitions? Are acquisitions or international expansion part of your strategy?

Just like many other companies, we aim to become a global player and do not want to be limited by borders; we want to supply our products to a diverse range of clients worldwide. In the long term, our goal is to maintain Korea as the core of our technology and production system while connecting overseas sites into a unified K-EMS global hub model.

In simple terms, we aim to build a standardized manufacturing system in Korea that can be replicated abroad. When the time is right to establish or acquire an overseas facility, we want to “copy and paste” our proven processes, ensuring consistent quality and operational discipline anywhere in the world.

We are carefully studying overseas expansion, and we consider India a major global manufacturing hub not only for production, but also for potential R&D collaboration. India has great potential, but infrastructural challenges such as regulatory instability and power-supply issues require caution. Our previous experience in China where frequent regulatory changes ultimately forced us to withdraw after 10 years taught us the importance of patience, detailed planning, and deliberate execution.

This year marks your 56th anniversary. When we return for your 60th-anniversary interview four years from now, what do you hope to have achieved?

I want to build a company that is small in size but big in capability. Not a giant like Samsung or Hyundai, but a company that grows steadily, earns the trust of its employees, and is recognized for technical excellence even without having its own consumer brand.

I want PJ Electronics to be a workplace where employees feel respected and proud, and a company that customers trust as a responsible, collaborative partner. That is the future I envision small in scale but large in value.

If you had to describe PJ Electronics in a single sentence for global investors and partners, what would it be?

That is a difficult question, but I would say: a fast, flexible, and trusted one-stop turnkey solutions partner. We focus on design support, high-reliability manufacturing, and seamless integration from development through delivery. That combination defines who we are, and our ultimate goal is to become the most efficient and capable manufacturing partner.

Interested in learning more? Click here: http://pjems.co.kr/