SK Hynix announced plans to invest 100 trillion won, or about $64.38 billion, to build new chip plants in South Korea as part of a broader investment push tied to the growth of artificial intelligence, according to Reuters.
The company said the projects will be based in Cheongju, a city in central South Korea. And the plans include 80 trillion won for a new NAND memory chip factory by 2029 and 20 trillion won for a chip packaging plant by late 2027.
These projects are part of a broader $2.1 trillion investment plan announced by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics earlier this week. The larger plan also includes a new chip cluster in southwest South Korea and existing projects designed to strengthen the country’s semiconductor production base.
South Korea is aiming to double its memory chip production capacity within five years. SK Hynix and Samsung are among the world’s largest memory chip manufacturers, along with U.S.-based Micron Technology.
The investment plans come as demand from AI hyperscalers has created a global shortage of memory chips. Prices for NAND flash memory and DRAM have climbed sharply as AI infrastructure demand continues to increase.
SK Hynix said it plans to begin construction of the new Cheongju NAND factory, known as M17, next year. In April, the company also broke ground on the P&T7 fab in Cheongju, a dedicated advanced packaging facility for AI memory, including high-bandwidth memory.
The company cautioned that its long-term investment plans could change depending on global chip demand and spending by major customers. Factors like delays in selecting or securing construction sites could also lead to postponed plans.
The announcement also comes amid volatility in chip stocks. SK Hynix shares fell 15% and Samsung shares declined 9% on Thursday amid a broader global selloff in chipmakers, as investors raised concerns about whether AI infrastructure spending could eventually outpace demand.
