SK hynix invests $38 billion in chip plants in South Korea
SK hynix’s board has approved about 54.3 trillion won ($38 billion) of investments through 2031, including 35.2 trillion won for the second phase of construction of its chip fabrication plant in Yongin and 19.1 trillion won for its M17 chip plant in Cheongju.
SK hynix has announced that it has decided to build new fabs in Yongin and Cheongju in South Korea and has approved a total investment of approximately 54 trillion won (about USD 38 billion) — 35.2 trillion won in Yongin “Y2” fab and 19.1 trillion won in the Cheongju “M17” fab, in a board meeting.
This decision represents execution of the mid-to-long-term investment strategy announced by the company last June. Under its master plan to invest 600 trillion won in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster and 100 trillion won to expand its Cheongju production base, SK hynix is currently constructing its first fab in Yongin (Y1). With this latest decision, the company is embarking on the construction of subsequent fabs in both Yongin and Cheongju, SK hynix said in a press release.
Yongin Y2 is the second of four fabs planned sequentially for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. It will serve as a DRAM production base spanning a total floor area of 341,000 pyeong (approximately 1,130,000m²). Construction is scheduled to break ground in July next year, targeting the opening of its first cleanroom in June 2029 to produce HBM and other next-generation DRAM products. Meanwhile, construction on Y1 is progressing smoothly toward its initial cleanroom opening target of February next year.
SK hynix previously set a goal to advance the completion date of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster by 12 years — from the originally planned 2045 to 2033 — to finish constructing all four fabs. The Y2 construction serves as the second phase supporting this accelerated timeline and the investment spans to October 2031 sequentially, the press release said.
SK hynix said it selected Cheongju as its new NAND fab base because it offers the fastest fab construction timeline. Cheongju M17 will be built across a total area of 206,000 pyeong(approximately 680,000m²), breaking ground in February next year with plans to open its first cleanroom in December 2028.
“This investment is a decision made to seize opportunities in line with the market’s growth speed,” an SK hynix official said. “By proactively securing production capabilities, we aim to establish ourselves as a key partner in AI infrastructure, contributing to the stability of the global AI semiconductor supply chain.”
