• ¨     SK Hynix Inc., a South Korean memory chipmaker, approved an investment of 54.3 trillion won (about $38.15 billion) on 7 August 2026 to build two new semiconductor fabrication facilities in South Korea.

    ¨     The project covers the Yongin “Y2” fab in Gyeonggi Province and the Cheongju “M17” fab in North Chungcheong Province.

    ¨     A semiconductor fabrication facility (fab) is a plant where integrated circuits are manufactured on silicon wafers.

    ¨     Fabs use cleanrooms, lithography systems, deposition tools, etching equipment, and testing systems for chip production.

    ¨     The Yongin Y2 fab will receive an investment of 35.2 trillion won (about $24.8 billion).

    ¨     The Cheongju M17 fab will receive 19.1 trillion won (about $13.4 billion).

    ¨     Construction of the Yongin facility is scheduled to begin in July 2027.

    ¨     The first cleanroom at the Yongin Y2 fab is targeted for completion by June 2029.

    ¨     The Yongin Y2 fab will produce DRAM for High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and next-generation DRAM.

    ¨     HBM is a stacked memory architecture used in graphics processors and AI accelerators because it offers high bandwidth and low latency.

    ¨     The Cheongju M17 fab will focus on NAND memory and enterprise Solid-State Drives (SSDs) for AI workloads.

    ¨     NAND flash memory is a non-volatile storage technology used in SSDs, USB drives, and memory cards.

    ¨   SK Hynix linked the investment to its mid-to-long-term plan of 600 trillion won for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster and 100 trillion won for its Cheongju production base.

    ¨     99% of the Phase 1 power and water infrastructure for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster has been completed.

    ¨     Omdia projected that global demand for DRAM and NAND memory chips will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% through 2030.

    ¨     Counterpoint Research stated that the multi-year construction timeline could keep consumer memory prices under pressure until the end of 2028.