Global demand for memory chips has surged, and SK Hynix announced the expansion of investment in Yongin Semiconductor Cluster to cope with the challenges of the artificial intelligence (AI) wave. Industry experts analyze that the expansion plan will greatly increase production capacity.

At the meeting on the 17th, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won stated that SK Hynix plans to increase the investment amount in Yongin Semiconductor Cluster from 128 trillion won (approximately US$85.5 billion) by 2028. Choi Taiyuan pointed out that the demand for memory chips continues to grow and the process upgrades, and the investment amount will continue to be adjusted. The overall investment in Yongin District reached approximately 600 trillion won.

The Yongin City Government recently increased the building floor area ratio from 350% to 490% and relaxed the building height limit from 120 meters to 150 meters. These adjustments are based on SK Hynix's project since 2019 to expand the total clean room area of ​​the pre-planned wafer cluster by 50% to further enhance production capacity.

This semiconductor cluster has four wafer fabs, each of which is equivalent in size to the six recent M15X wafer fabs in Cheongju. The investment amount is 20 trillion won. Therefore, each new wafer fab in the Yongin cluster requires 120 trillion won, and the total investment for the four plants is 480 trillion won.

Experts point out that considering inflation and the speed of equipment and technology development, the adjusted investment of 600 trillion won is reasonable. Industry insiders said that the huge production capacity of Yongin Semiconductor Cluster will have a major impact on the global memory chip market, and SK Hynix's market response also depends on the progress of this plan.

SK hynix set to boost AI readiness with expanded Yongin investment: experts Further reading: The memory industry's capital expenditures in 2026 will remain conservative, with limited growth in bit output. Korean media: SK Hynix postpones HBM4 equipment purchase, expands production line and introduces mass production early next year