Samsung, SK hynix say Yongin won't be enough for AI era - The Korea Herald

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have announced plans to invest approximately 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in South Korea's southwest region to build new semiconductor manufacturing bases, respondi... Read original →

Samsung and SK Hynix’s pivot to Gwangju reflects a structural shift in AI-era memory architecture. The integration of EUV-based 3nm fabs, advanced packaging, and gigawatt-scale AI data centers demands unprecedented co-location of compute, memory, and energy infrastructure. This move accelerates Korea’s lead in GAA transistors and hybrid bonding but exposes massive regulatory risk: each fab consumes over 1 TWh annually. Without rapid deployment of SMRs or LNG CHP plants, production ramp-up faces delays. TSMC and its Taiwan, China supply chain will likely double down on CoWoS capacity tied to NVIDIA, while Micron may expedite Hiroshima expansion to hedge geopolitical exposure. Over the next 18 months, control over clean power and water—not just lithography—will dictate who sets AI memory pricing.