At the far edge of the Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex in Oebuk-dong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, the imposing silhouette of SK hynix’s nearby Cheongju Campus M15X stretches long across the horizon, while a vast expanse of land unfolds far beyond the line of sight. On this day, the usual stillness gave way to a palpable tension and the bustle of activity.
This is the site where SK hynix’s P&T71 will be built. After a long wait, the groundbreaking ceremony finally took place, marking the moment this site began its transformation into a stronghold of advanced packaging technology, a critical factor in Korea’s semiconductor competitiveness, and a key production hub for supplying the global AI memory market at scale.
1P&T (Package & Test): A facility that packages semiconductor chips produced in front-end fabs into finished product form and performs final quality verification
“P&T7: A Core Production Base to Complete AI Memory Leadership”
Groundbreaking Ceremony for P&T7
On April 22, SK hynix held the P&T7 Groundbreaking Ceremony, attended by 125 executives and employees, including Byeonggi Lee, Head of Manufacturing, along with 40 family members of employees and 20 executives and employees from SK ecoplant, the company overseeing construction.
The ceremony began with a progress report on the plant construction, followed by a safety pledge performance and a touch-button ceremony to officially mark the groundbreaking. Participants expressed their hopes for a safe and smooth construction process with enthusiastic applause and cheers.
P&T7 within the Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex
P&T7 is a dedicated advanced packaging fab essential for manufacturing AI memory products such as HBM2. With an investment of trillions of Korean won, the facility will be built on approximately 230,000㎡ (70,000 pyeong) of land within the Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex. It will feature three floors of WLP3 process lines spanning approximately 60,000㎡ (18,000 pyeong) and seven floors of WT (Wafer Test) process lines covering approximately 90,000㎡ (28,000 pyeong), bringing the total cleanroom area alone to approximately 150,000㎡ (46,000 pyeong). Following the groundbreaking, construction is set to proceed with the WT line targeted for completion by October 2027 and the WLP line to follow by February 2028.
2HBM (High Bandwidth Memory): A high-value, high-performance product that vertically stacks multiple DRAM chips to increase capacity and dramatically boost data processing speeds. The technology has evolved through successive generations — HBM, HBM2, HBM2E, HBM3, HBM3E, and HBM4.
3WLP (Wafer Level Packaging): An advanced method that goes beyond conventional packaging—where wafers are first diced into individual chips before being packaged—by completing the packaging process at the wafer level to produce finished products.
As breakthrough technologies such as WLP continue to emerge, pushing beyond the limits of scaling, back-end processes have evolved from their traditional role of ensuring product reliability and completing packaging into a decisive variable that determines the performance of AI semiconductors. Accordingly, P&T7, which will concentrate cutting-edge process technologies, is expected to serve as a strategic stronghold for preemptively meeting the surging global demand for AI memory and maintaining the company’s current technological leadership.
In his opening remarks, Byeonggi Lee, Head of Manufacturing at SK hynix, said, “P&T7 is the core production base that will complete SK hynix’s AI memory leadership. We will focus our manufacturing capabilities to ensure that the advanced products manufactured here set the standard for global AI infrastructure, while closely engaging with the local community to build a successful business model that captures both national industrial competitiveness and shared growth with the region.”
“P&T7: A New Engine for Shared Growth and Balanced Regional Development”
From the site selection stage, SK hynix carefully considered the importance of balanced regional growth and the broader impact on the industrial ecosystem before ultimately choosing Cheongju. The decision was a strategic one, aimed at strengthening the nation’s industrial foundation over the medium to long term and shifting the center of gravity from the Seoul metropolitan area to regional areas, creating a virtuous cycle of shared growth between the capital region and local communities.
P&T7 is also the fifth production facility SK hynix is building in Cheongju, following M11, M12, M15, and M15X. Once completed and fully operational alongside the adjacent production sites, Cheongju will firmly establish itself as SK hynix’s new core hub for AI memory.
Bird’s-eye view rendering of P&T7
The positive ripple effects on the local community are also expected to be significant. During the construction phase, an average of 320 workers per day, and up to 9,000 at peak times, will be deployed on site, injecting vitality into the local economy. Even after completion, approximately 3,000 in-house personnel will be stationed at P&T7, ensuring a lasting positive impact on the regional economy. In addition, the large-scale industrial complex, once up and running, is expected to drive the expansion of nearby infrastructure, including transportation networks, significantly improving living conditions for local residents.
As the number of partner companies in the Cheongju area grows, SK hynix also plans to further expand its existing shared growth programs, including technology development support, management consulting, and financial assistance. Through these efforts, the company aims to enhance the overall competitiveness of the regional industrial ecosystem and solidify a virtuous cycle in which the strengthened technological capabilities of its partners are immediately reflected in the competitiveness of SK hynix’s own products.
SK hynix stated, “P&T7 goes beyond simply expanding production facilities. It represents the culmination of the trust built together by the region and the company, and will serve as a central pillar driving balanced regional growth. Going forward, we will remain fully committed to shared growth with the local community and establish successful milestones for balanced national development.” Meanwhile, when considering the additional expansion of back-end fabs to meet AI demand, SK hynix will also explore ways to diversify its domestic production bases in a manner that contributes to balanced regional development.
“P&T7: A Pivotal Turning Point to Transform the Regional Economic Paradigm”
As news of the P&T7 groundbreaking spread, a sense of optimism began to ripple through. From local government officials to residents and small business owners, the people we met on the ground each shared their excitement and expectations for the future that SK hynix will bring, from their own unique perspectives.
“The groundbreaking of P&T7 is an important milestone for SK hynix in leading the global semiconductor industry, and at the same time, I believe it will serve as a critical starting point for Cheongju to become a self-sufficient city with a population of one million. SK hynix’s investment in Cheongju will not only stimulate the local construction sector but also lead to long-term regional economic revitalization, quality job creation, and population inflow. As local government finances expand through these developments, it will provide a major boost to improving the welfare of Cheongju citizens and enhancing the city’s infrastructure. I look forward to seeing Cheongju establish itself as a global hub for cutting-edge technology and a strategic center of K-Semiconductor through this investment.”
“With the news of such a large-scale construction project, the expectation that foot traffic will increase and the local commercial district will be revitalized is greater than ever. For us local business owners, this is more than just an increase in revenue. I believe it is a pivotal turning point that gives us hope that we can sustain our livelihoods once again.”
“As a local resident, I feel a great sense of pride knowing that Cheongju will become a key hub for producing cutting-edge AI semiconductors. I hope the local economy will be further revitalized going forward, and that the benefits will extend to nurturing local talent and improving various infrastructure, so that Cheongju can grow into a thriving community where technology, industry, and daily life come together in harmony.”
