SEOUL, October 9 (AJP) — SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said Friday SK hynix would move as quickly as possible on its planned Gwangju semiconductor base after inspecting the site, citing rapidly rising memory demand.
Chey, making his first visit to the planned fab site at Gwangju Military Airport, said SK hynix had already brought forward the full buildout of its Yongin semiconductor cluster by 12 years but increasingly believed even that expansion might not be enough.
“If we determine that we can build here, we will move as quickly as possible,” Chey told reporters after inspecting the site.
Chey said semiconductor demand was continuing to increase at a rapid pace, requiring SK hynix to accelerate capacity expansion and potentially develop the Gwangju site in parallel with Yongin.
He also said construction work could begin before all planned water and electricity infrastructure is completed if the schedules can be aligned, adding that the company would prioritize speed rather than seek to minimize construction costs.
Chey stopped short of giving a groundbreaking date, saying SK hynix still needed to coordinate its construction schedule with government plans for water, electricity and other infrastructure.
The company’s current Gwangju plan is roughly two-thirds the size of its Yongin project, Chey said, without specifying whether he was referring to land, production capacity or another measure.
He added that the Gwangju project could become larger if more land is available and semiconductor demand continues to grow.
SK hynix said in its June 29 mid-to-long-term investment strategy that it plans to invest about 400 trillion won ($299 billion) in a new semiconductor cluster in South Korea’s southwestern region as part of a broader 1,100 trillion won investment program spanning Yongin, Cheongju and the southwest.
The company said at the time that rapidly growing AI memory demand meant Yongin and Cheongju would not provide enough production capacity after reaching full-scale operation, making another large manufacturing base necessary.
SK hynix also said it had moved forward the target for completing construction of all four Yongin fabs to 2033 from 2045, a 12-year acceleration intended to respond to rising DRAM demand.
Cheong Wa Dae said after a July 6 public-private review meeting that Gwangju Military Airport had been selected for the Honam semiconductor industrial complex after participating companies identified it as the most suitable site. The government cited the airport’s roughly 2.5 million pyeong of largely flat land, proximity to central Gwangju and a KTX station, and access to road, airport and port infrastructure as key advantages.
At a second review meeting on August 10, Cheong Wa Dae said the government planned to complete the relocation or temporary dispersal of military facilities by the second half of 2028 while advancing site preparation around the ammunition depot. First-stage power supply is planned by the end of 2028, with water supplies to be secured by 2030.
SK hynix said in June that its southwestern investment would be carried out in phases and that the specific scale and timetable could change depending on market demand and would be finalized through board approval.
AJP Takeaways
- SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said SK hynix would move as quickly as possible on its planned Gwangju semiconductor base once construction conditions allow.
- Chey said SK hynix may need additional production capacity even after bringing the full buildout of its Yongin semiconductor cluster forward by 12 years.
- The government has designated Gwangju Military Airport for the Honam semiconductor cluster and said it will accelerate military relocation, site preparation, power and water infrastructure.
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