South Korea’s Lee Vows to Double Memory-Chip Capacity in Five Years
The target is tied to a roughly $520 billion investment plan by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, including four new memory fabs.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pledged Sept. 23 to double the country’s memory-chip production capacity within five years, tying the target to a roughly $520 billion semiconductor investment push.
Lee made the commitment at the Korea Investment Summit in New York and called for artificial intelligence supply chains that can withstand external shocks.
The government plan includes four new memory fabrication plants in South Korea’s southwestern region. Samsung Electronics has outlined about $260 billion for semiconductor investment in Gwangju, including two new fabs, while SK hynix has announced a similarly sized southwestern semiconductor cluster.
SK hynix’s plan also includes a 1-gigawatt AI data center. The companies are expanding beyond existing production centers and preparing advanced packaging facilities in the country’s central region.
The five-year capacity target is a government objective, while SK hynix has said its southwestern investment will be phased and that the final scale and schedule may change with market conditions and board approvals.
