▪ Announces plans to establish a semiconductor cluster in the Southwestern Region with an investment of approximately KRW 400 trillion to meet surging demand.
▪ Unveils SK Group’s blueprint for building 15GW of AI Data Center(AIDC) infrastructure nationwide
▪ “SK will launch the next great leap forward for Korea’s AI semiconductor industry from the Southwestern Region.”
SK hynix President & CEO Kwak Noh-Jung today announced the company’s vision for ‘Semiconductor and AI Investment in the Southwestern Region’ to further strengthen Korea’s future competitiveness at the ‘National Briefing on the Development Vision for Advanced Industries in the Southwestern Region,’ held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwanju.
“The AI industry has moved beyond the training phase and entered an era in which AI services are being deployed at scale,” said CEO Kwak, adding “Given projections for explosive future demand, the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster alone will not be sufficient to meet future demand, making a new semiconductor cluster necessary.”
He continued, “We need a location capable of supporting a large-scale site with stable supplies of electricity and water. We are committed to establishing production infrastructure in the Southwestern Cluster to meet growing global demand for memory.”
The following are the key points from the CEO’s presentation at the event.
○ Rising Memory Demand Driven by Expanding AI Services
- The AI industry has moved beyond model training and entered an era of large-scale commercial deployment, resulting in explosive increase in memory demand. In the AI era, memory is no longer merely a component but critical infrastructure that directly determines AI performance.
- Given projections for explosive future demand, the Yongin Cluster alone will not be sufficient to satisfy future market needs, making an additional semiconductor cluster necessary.
- As the global memory supply shortage intensifies, it is essential to secure a new production cluster quickly at a location that offers a large development site together with stable electricity and water infrastructure.
○ The Southwestern Region Will Serve as the Post-Yongin Manufacturing Base
- The Southwestern Region is expected to meet the key requirements for a next-generation semiconductor cluster.
- SK hynix will establish production infrastructure in the Southwestern Cluster as quickly as possible to meet growing global memory demand.
○ 1GW AI Data Center for the Southwestern Region
- Alongside semiconductor manufacturing facilities, SK Group will continue expanding AI data center infrastructure nationwide.
- Beginning with 5GW, SK Group plans to build 15GW of AI data center capacity across Korea in phases.
- In particular, SK Group plans to establish a 1GW AI data center in the Southwestern Region, creating an AI industry ecosystem where semiconductor manufacturing and AI computing generate strong synergies.
○ Wrap-up
- Korea already possesses one of the world’s strongest semiconductor industries.
- This competitiveness is the result of decades of collaboration between government and industry, together with the dedication of the Korean people.
- Now is the time to build the next generation of global AI infrastructure upon that foundation.
- SK is now expanding into the Southwestern Region as another major production base.
- SK will launch the next great leap forward for Korea’s AI semiconductor industry from the Southwestern Region.
