SK Hynix is to invest $54 billion in South Korea semiconductor manufacturing, betting demand is going to stay strong for the next 6 years.

On August 7, 2026, the board green-lit a 35.2 trillion won, or $35 billion, investment into a new fabrication center in Yongin and another 19.1 trillion won in development for Cheongju. SK Hynix is a major manufacturer when it comes to DRAM as well as flash memory chips.

The company referenced research from Omdia predicting that worldwide demand for semiconductor memory would grow 19% a year until 2030 and stated that it was interested in locking in sufficient production capacity to satisfy that demand.

SK Hynix said the surge was not a temporary supercycle but a change in structure, with memory becoming the foundational infrastructure that influences the performance of AI models.

With a perspective to make South Korea semiconductor manufacturing strong, Yongin investment will help finance the second of four planned fabrication factories in the city, expected to open in June 2029. The first plant is under construction now and is due to be built by early 2027, with each of the four facilities scheduled for completion by 2033.

The official statement from the company said that this is an investment decision to take chances following the pace of market expansion. The company intends to be an important partner in AI infrastructure and help stabilize the global AI semiconductor supply chain by promptly establishing production standards.