Korea Invests 800 Trillion Won in Chip Complex - Let's Data Science

On June 29, 2026, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung unveiled a public-private initiative worth approximately 1,000 trillion won (about $649 billion), focusing on semiconductors, AI data centers, an... Read original →

South Korea’s trillion-won semiconductor push is less about capacity and more a strategic recalibration of AI infrastructure around HBM and advanced packaging. Technically, Samsung and SK Hynix’s new memory fabs will catalyze localized CoWoS-like ecosystems, forcing equipment and materials suppliers to pre-emptively secure positions—yet Honam’s water and power constraints may compel costly closed-loop cooling, inflating HBM cost-per-GB by over 10%. Geopolitically, this is a defensive maneuver against U.S. CHIPS Act pressures and Japanese export controls, but risks intensifying competition with Taiwan, China over packaging talent and tools. TSMC will likely accelerate CoWoS ramp-up in Kaohsiung and align with U.S.-Japan allies to dominate 2.5D/3D standards. Within 18 months, HBM supply concentration will tighten further, squeezing second-tier memory makers, while co-design of AI data centers and fabs around energy resilience becomes the new competitive frontier.