SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - SK Hynix Inc. (HXSCL), a South Korean semiconductor company, Tuesday announced its plan to invest 19 trillion Won in a new advanced packaging fab, Package & Test or P&T7. The investment aims to meet the surging demand for AI-oriented memory amid the growing competition in the artificial intelligence or AI industry.
The new P&T7 facility will be an advanced packaging fab essential for manufacturing AI memory products, such as High Bandwidth Memory or HBM. Construction is scheduled to begin in April 2026 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The facility will be built on a 70,000-square-meter site in the Cheongju Techno Valley Industrial Complex.
According to SK Hynix, the HBM market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 33% between 2025 and 2030. The company believes it is crucial to proactively respond to this increasing demand. The advanced packaging facility will complete semiconductor chips produced in a full-process fab into final product form and conduct quality verification.
The new P&T7 plant will be located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, as advanced packaging processes require access to the entire production process, including integration and logistical stability. SK Hynix expects to establish Cheongju as its new core AI memory production hub, leveraging the organic linkage between the Cheongju M15X and P&T7 facilities.
The firm already has completed construction of M15 in Cheongju, and in 2024 announced plans to build a new fab, M15X, worth a total of 20 trillion won to secure production capacity for next-generation DRAM, including HBM, a key component of AI infrastructure.
SK Hynix expects the new facility will ensure a stable response to global AI memory demand and optimize production at its Cheongju fab.
The investment is aligned with the South Korean government's policy of balanced regional growth and considers supply chain efficiency and future competitiveness.
In South Korea, SK Hynix shares were losing around 2.3 percent, trading at 732,000 won.
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