SK Hynix board approves $38 billion investments for South Korea's Yongin, Cheongju chip plants

SK Hynix, a leading memory chip manufacturer, announced on Friday a $38.1 billion investment to construct two new fabrication plants in South Korea. The company plans to build the Y2 plant in Yongin, earmarking 19.1 trillion won for the facility, and the M17 plant in Cheongju, with 35.2 trillion won allocated for construction. This substantial investment coincides with a surge in memory prices due to a shortage of supply and high demand from companies developing AI infrastructure and chip firms like Nvidia.

SK Hynix's Y2 fab will specialize in dynamic random access memory (DRAM), while the Cheongju M17 plant will focus on NAND memory, a product witnessing rapid demand. Construction on the Yongin Y2 plant is set to commence in July 2027, with its first cleanroom opening in June 2029. The Cheongju M17 facility will break ground in February 2027, with its initial cleanroom slated for December 2028.

SK Hynix's CEO emphasized that the investments are part of the company's master plan, which includes a total of 600 trillion won in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster and 100 trillion won to expand its Cheongju production base.