SK Hynix to Invest 1,100 Trillion Won in New Semiconductor Clusters Including 400 Trillion Won in Southwest Korea

Yonhap News Agency reported that SK hynix plans to newly invest 1,100 trillion won ($713 billion) in building new semiconductor clusters, including 400 trillion won in South Korea's southwestern region, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said Monday. Chey also said the group plans to invest 1,000 trillion won in AI data centers as part of its vision to transform South Korea from an "AI consumer" into an "intelligence exporter." "We should not simply export AI products. We need to export intelligence itself while building a domestic market for AI-driven intelligence," Chey said. "To achieve that, we will rapidly build AI factories in the form of large-scale AI data centers." The remarks came during a televised briefing in which President Lee Jae Myung unveiled the government's "three mega projects" initiative aimed at strengthening South Korea's competitiveness in advanced technologies. Separately, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong said the company is considering the southwestern city of Gwangju as the site for a new semiconductor production facility, which would complement its existing production bases concentrated in the wider Seoul metropolitan area. Under the government initiative, Samsung also plans to expand its robotics investment in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, while building high-bandwidth memory production facilities in Chungcheong Province.