SK Hynix Confirms Total of 54 Trillion Won Investment for Yongin Fab 2 and Cheongju M17

SK Hynix has finalized its investment scale for new DRAM and NAND production fabs to be built in Yongin and Cheongju to respond to the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory.

SK Hynix announced on August 7 that, following a board resolution, it has decided to invest a total of approximately 54 trillion won, with 35.2 trillion won allocated for the Yongin Fab 2 (Y2) and 19.1 trillion won for the Cheongju NAND production base M17 fab, respectively.

This decision is part of the mid-to-long-term investment strategy announced in June of this year.

Under its previous plans to pour 600 trillion won into the Yongin semiconductor cluster and 100 trillion won into expanding the Cheongju production base, SK Hynix is currently constructing the Yongin Fab 1 (Y1) and is now moving on to the construction of subsequent fabs following this investment decision.

SK Hynix stated, "In the AI era, technological competitiveness alone is not enough; the ability to supply the required volume at the time customers need it is true competitiveness," adding, "We decided on this investment after a thorough review of demand."

Yongin Y2 is the second of a total of four fabs that the company is building within the Yongin semiconductor cluster, and is scheduled to be constructed with a total floor area of 341,000 pyeong.

It is planned to break ground in July of next year and open its first clean room in June 2029, being established as a production hub for next-generation DRAM, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

Construction of Y1, which is currently underway, is progressing smoothly with the goal of opening its first clean room in February of next year.

Investments for the construction of Y2 will be executed sequentially through October 2031.

This investment amount includes the construction costs for a "support building" equipped with employee welfare facilities, an "integrated R&D center" that centrally operates the experimentation, testing, and analysis of developed products, and auxiliary facilities.

SK Hynix has set a goal to complete the construction of all four fabs by 2033, moving up the completion date of the Yongin semiconductor cluster by 12 years from its originally scheduled 2045.

The Yongin semiconductor cluster, being built on an area of approximately 1.26 million pyeong in Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, has entered its final stages with 99% progress in establishing the Phase 1 power and water infrastructure required until the operation of Y2.

Cheongju M17 will have a total floor area of 206,000 pyeong, with ground-breaking scheduled for February of next year and the opening of its first clean room in December 2028.

The investment period runs through April 2031, and funds will be executed in stages according to the project schedule.

Since Cheongju is home to SK Hynix's existing NAND production fabs M11, M12, and M15, the site, power, and water supply for the new fab are already substantially established.

The company's policy is to streamline production through integration with existing fabs and build the new fab as quickly as possible.

SK Hynix plans to secure production infrastructure proactively by proceeding with fab construction according to a scheduled timeline based on the mid-to-long-term demand of client companies.

The company also plans to expand production capacity by sequentially carrying out clean room expansion and equipment input in line with demand trends.

(Photo provided by SK Hynix, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.