[Edaily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] Kwak No-jeong, CEO of SK hynix, announced plans to invest a total of 100 trillion won in Cheongju to build a new NAND production facility (M17) and a state-of-the-art packaging facility. Construction on M17 is set to begin next year, with the goal of commencing operations in the first half of 2029.

At the “Public Briefing on the Vision for the Development of High-Tech Industries in the Chungcheong Region” held in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, on the 2nd, CEO Kwak stated, “We plan to invest a total of 100 trillion won in Cheongju,” adding, “We will invest 80 trillion won in M17, which will produce NAND, and 20 trillion won in P&T7 to strengthen our advanced packaging capabilities.”

He explained, “P&T7 is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027 and will serve as SK hynix’s hub for advanced packaging,” adding, “Construction of the new M17 fab is set to begin next year, with the goal of commencing operations in the first half of 2029.”

He cited changes in memory demand driven by the proliferation of AI as the rationale for the investment.

President Kwak said, “As AI services gain momentum, demand is increasing not only for HBM and server DRAM but also for enterprise SSDs and NAND,” adding, “While the adoption of physical AI is expected to further expand NAND’s application areas and demand in the future, supply remains insufficient, so a certain scale of capacity expansion is necessary not only for DRAM but also for NAND.”

He also explained the rationale for selecting Cheongju as the investment hub.

He said, “When building a semiconductor production fab, securing large-scale land and infrastructure—such as a stable power and water supply—as well as timing are crucial.” He added, “Cheongju is connected to existing fabs, which can boost production efficiency, and since land, power, and water are already largely in place, it offers the advantage of allowing immediate fab construction.”

President Kwak also unveiled plans to build AI infrastructure.

“SK Group plans to expand its AI data center infrastructure alongside its semiconductor production bases,” he said. “Starting with a 5-gigawatt (GW) facility, we will gradually build AI data centers totaling 15 GW nationwide, and we will establish a 1-GW AI data center in the Chungcheong region to create an AI industry ecosystem where semiconductor production and AI computing generate synergies.”

He added, “We have been strengthening our competitiveness in the fields of NAND, HBM, and advanced packaging in the Chungcheong region,” and stated, “We will continue to develop the Chungcheong region into a central hub for global AI innovation.”