Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, projected that a memory supply shortage, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), will continue through 2030 as demand for memory surges with the spread of artificial intelligence (AI). He also unveiled a plan to double SK hynix's wafer production capacity within the next five years to respond.
At a global media roundtable on June 2 at Computex 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan, Chey said, "We still hold to the earlier projection that the memory shortage will persist through 2030," adding, "With the spread of AI data centers, AI factories, and AI PCs, memory demand will keep growing."
He explained, "The bottlenecks in the AI industry are not just about GPUs or memory," adding, "Power, water, equipment, land—every element could become scarce together."
He also laid out a plan to expand capacity. Chey said, "We plan to double our total wafer production capacity within the next five years," adding, "There will be many obstacles, but we will continue to make the necessary investments."
However, he stressed that expanding supply will still take considerable time. He said, "It takes at least three years to build a new fab, and more than five years if starting from a completely new site," adding, "Expanding memory production is by no means easy."
On the increasingly strengthened cooperation among Nvidia, TSMC, and SK hynix, he said, "What matters is delivering what customers want," and assessed, "With TSMC, we are maintaining a partnership at the highest level ever."
Asked to compare the strengths and weaknesses of TSMC's cooperation model with Samsung Electronics' integrated operation of memory and foundry businesses, he said, "We are simply providing what customers want," adding, "I don't see it as an issue of comparing pros and cons."
Regarding SK hynix's role in the supply chain for Nvidia's next-generation AI platform, "Vera Rubin," he said, "We hope to continue holding a major supplier position," adding, "But ultimately, that is for the customer to decide."
Chey presented the construction of an "AI factory" as a future goal. He said, "We are currently supplying memory for AI, but going forward I want to build an AI factory that produces more intelligence," adding, "To that end, we will expand cooperation with partners around the world, including Taiwan."
On the purpose of his visit to Taiwan, he said, "We are meeting numerous partners, not only TSMC but also Foxconn and Acer," adding, "As the AI business expands, more partnerships are needed."
Asked what Korean corporations should learn from Taiwan, he emphasized, "Taiwan is capturing the AI momentum very well," adding, "Korea should also embrace the AI era more proactively and consider how to respond faster."