SK Hynix will invest an additional 21.6 trillion Korean won ($15bn) to build new facilities for its first semiconductor fabrication plant currently under construction in the Yongin semiconductor cluster, the firm said on 25 February.
The investment period will run over 1 March 2026-31 December 2030. This takes the total investment in the plant to W31 trillion, including W9.4 trillion announced in July 2024, the company said.
SK Hynix will build five additional clean rooms with this investment, taking the total to six clean rooms. The opening of the first clean room has been moved forward to February 2027 from May 2027 to meet increasing semiconductor demand, the firm said. SK Hynix plans to build four semiconductor fabrication plants at the Yongin site, it said in 2024.
This latest investment is in response to rapidly growing global demand for high-performance and high-density semiconductors on the back of expansion in the artificial intelligence (AI), data centre and high-performance computing sectors, SK Hynix said. The firm aims to strengthen supply chain stability and increase production capacity ahead of schedule to meet this demand, it added.
This is in line with South Korea's plan to develop the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing hub. The hub is part of the country's efforts to increase the rate of self-sufficiency in the semiconductor supply chain to 50pc by 2030. South Korea also aims to capture 10pc of the global chips market. The country announced a W26 trillion investment in 2024 to support semiconductor research and development, workforce training and infrastructure, such as roads, water supply, and power, to accelerate the launch of the Yongin cluster.

