Where will the new chip factories be built?

Four new memory chip fabs will be built in southwestern South Korea, plus an HBM packaging hub in the central region. Samsung separately announced a new semiconductor fab in Gwangju, roughly 300 kilometers south of Seoul, and an AI data center in Haenam at the southern tip of the peninsula.

What is driving this massive investment?

Memory chip makers are experiencing record demand caused by the global AI buildout, a shortage referred to as RAMageddon. President Lee cited existing facilities in Yongin and Pyeongtaek as having 'already reached their limits,' necessitating new capacity.

When will these facilities be completed?

The body does not specify completion dates. Samsung and SK Group outlined their investments as spanning the next decade and through 2035 respectively, but the article notes that fabs take years to build.

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Samsung, SK Hynix commit $518B to memory chip fabs as South Korea eyes AI dominance

TechCrunch AI12h ago5 min read

Key takeaway

South Korea's two largest memory chip makers, Samsung and SK Hynix, are committing over $900 billion（約140兆円） combined to build new semiconductor fabs and AI data centers, betting they can maintain their lead in the memory chip market as global AI demand surges. The investments aim to ease worldwide memory shortages and position South Korea as an indispensable AI infrastructure hub, though success depends on whether demand holds up by the time the facilities are completed.

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3 Key Points

What happened
Samsung and SK Hynix announced plans to invest $518 billion（約83兆円） to build four new memory chip factories in southwestern South Korea, as part of a broader national investment plan unveiled Monday that also includes $52 billion（約8.3兆円） for an HBM (high bandwidth memory) packaging hub and $356 billion（約57兆円） for AI data centers through 2035.
Why it matters
South Korea's memory chip makers are capitalizing on soaring global demand driven by AI buildout—a shortage known as RAMageddon that is pushing record sales. By spreading manufacturing beyond the Seoul region and building data center capacity, the country aims to become a more central AI power player and avoid capacity constraints that have limited growth in existing facilities.
What to watch
Samsung plans to invest 2,655 trillion won (~$1.7 trillion（約270兆円）) over the next decade, while SK Group committed 2,100 trillion won (~$1.4 trillion（約220兆円）) in medium-to-long term investments. The risk: fabs take years to build, and demand could shrink before they come online, leaving companies with oversupply and falling prices.

FAQ

Where will the new chip factories be built?: Four new memory chip fabs will be built in southwestern South Korea, plus an HBM packaging hub in the central region. Samsung separately announced a new semiconductor fab in Gwangju, roughly 300 kilometers south of Seoul, and an AI data center in Haenam at the southern tip of the peninsula.
What is driving this massive investment?: Memory chip makers are experiencing record demand caused by the global AI buildout, a shortage referred to as RAMageddon. President Lee cited existing facilities in Yongin and Pyeongtaek as having 'already reached their limits,' necessitating new capacity.
When will these facilities be completed?: The body does not specify completion dates. Samsung and SK Group outlined their investments as spanning the next decade and through 2035 respectively, but the article notes that fabs take years to build.

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