South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix announced a plan to invest a combined 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in building a new computer chipmaking hub in the country’s southwest region, capitalizing on surging artificial intelligence-driven demand.
Expansion Plans
Samsung and SK Hynix, which together produce about two-thirds of the world’s memory chips, said they will each build two fabrication plants in the southwest, expanding beyond their existing manufacturing complexes in Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul.
The companies didn’t specify when the fabs in the southwest regions would be completed. SK Hynix’s Chairman Chey Tae-won said the project would be a complex, large-scale effort requiring “vast sites, along with sufficient power, water and skilled workers.” He said it took nine years for SK Hynix to establish its major manufacturing cluster in Gyeonggi Province.
Government officials outlined plans to build what they called a nationwide semiconductor ecosystem, with existing manufacturing hubs in the southeast expanding production of chip components and materials, the central Chungcheong region specializing in chip packaging, while data centers are built across the country.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.