SK hynix will build a 400 trillion won semiconductor cluster in the southwest region. With memory demand surging as artificial intelligence (AI) services spread, the company believes the Yongin semiconductor cluster alone will not be enough to meet future demand and plans to expand the southwest region as a new production base.
Kwak Noh-jung, SK hynix chief executive officer (president), attended the "Southwest region advanced industry development vision public briefing" at the Kimdaejung Convention Center on the 30th and announced the "southwest region semiconductor and AI investment plan." After the announcement, SK hynix posted on its newsroom and fleshed out its plans to build a southwest region semiconductor cluster and an AI data center.
SK hynix will invest 400 trillion won in the southwest region to establish a semiconductor production base. The company sees the AI industry moving beyond the training-focused phase into a stage where real services are spreading, deepening a shortage in memory supply. Accordingly, it has concluded that it must secure a new cluster quickly after Yongin.
Kwak said, "The AI industry has entered an era where real services are spreading in earnest, beyond the training phase," adding, "On the premise that future demand will increase explosively, it will be difficult to fully meet demand with the Yongin cluster, making a new semiconductor cluster necessary."
He also emphasized that the role of memory has changed in the AI era. Kwak said, "In the AI era, memory is not just a simple component but the core infrastructure that determines AI performance itself." The point is that as demand for AI model training and inference grows, the ability to supply high-performance memory, such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM), translates into industrial competitiveness.
The rationale for proposing the southwest region as a candidate site lies in land and infrastructure conditions. Kwak said, "We need a location that can provide a large site with stable power and water supply," adding, "We will build a production base in the southwest region, which is expected to meet these conditions, to respond to global memory demand."
SK hynix views the southwest region as a "post-Yongin" production base. Following the existing Icheon and Cheongju sites and the Yongin cluster, the company will expand its production base to the southwest region to respond to AI memory demand. However, the specific site and investment schedule appear likely to be finalized after reviewing infrastructure conditions such as power, water, and transportation and consulting with relevant agencies.
An SK Group-level AI data center investment plan was also presented. SK will expand AI computing infrastructure nationwide along with its semiconductor production bases. It plans to begin with a 5 GW scale and gradually build AI data centers nationwide to a total of around 15 GW.
A 1 GW AI data center will be established in the southwest region. Kwak said, "In the southwest region, we will build a 1 GW AI data center and create an AI industrial ecosystem here where semiconductor production and AI computing generate synergy."
SK hynix plans to co-locate semiconductor production and AI data centers to create an ecosystem that links memory supply with AI computing demand. AI data centers are core infrastructure that provide large-scale computing power and can serve as foundational facilities for various industries, including robotics, physical AI, healthcare, and education.
Kwak also underscored cooperation between the state and corporations. He said, "Korea already possesses the world's best semiconductor competitiveness," adding, "This competitiveness is the result of decades of cooperation between the state and corporations and the efforts of all the people." He continued, "Now it is time to build the next stage of global AI infrastructure on that foundation," and said, "The new leap of Korea's AI Semiconductor industry will start here in the southwest region with SK."