South Korea plans $518B AI chip manufacturing hub

South Korea plans to expand domestic semiconductor capacity with a $518 billion AI chip manufacturing hub led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The combined investment amounts to 800 trillion won and was announced on June 29, unveiled by President Lee Jae Myung with both company chairmen. Samsung and SK Hynix, together producing about two-thirds of the world’s memory chips, will each build two fabrication plants in the southwest, supplementing existing manufacturing complexes in Gyeonggi Province. Samsung said the new facilities will be built in Gwangju, with potential sites including land from a military air base scheduled to be relocated, though neither company provided a completion timeline. SK Hynix said the project requires “vast sites,” along with sufficient power, water, and skilled workers. Government officials dismissed concerns over utilities, pointing to renewable energy resources. The push supports a broader national semiconductor ecosystem, including packaging focus in Chungcheong and new data centers.