# SK hynix’s 1,100 trillion-won AI-memory buildout will extend beyond 2033 > Source: > Published: 2026-08-14 11:04:46.696284+00:00 # SK hynix’s 1,100 trillion-won AI-memory buildout will extend beyond 2033 - SK hynix’s 1,100 trillion-won figure covers three regional programs and will be executed in phases; it is not a single near-term spending commitment. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/) - The Yongin portion is planned at 600 trillion won, but SK hynix says that investment will extend beyond the 2033 construction target for the cluster’s fourth fab. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/) - Cheongju is assigned 100 trillion won for the M17 NAND fab and P&T7 advanced-packaging facility, with P&T7 targeted to complete key lines in 2027 and 2028. [[2]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-07/)[[3]](https://news.skhynix.com/skhynix-chungju-pt7/) - AI-memory demand is supported by customer-linked HBM4 programs and strong results at SK hynix, Samsung and Micron, while power and water infrastructure remain prerequisites for the Korean expansion. [[4]](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260729001053320)[[5]](https://news.samsungsemiconductor.com/global/samsung-electronics-announces-second-quarter-2026-results/)[[6]](https://investors.micron.com/node/50671) SK hynix has outlined a 1,100 trillion-won mid- to long-term investment strategy for memory production in South Korea, a figure that CNBC described as roughly $720 billion. The company’s own disclosures divide the plan among Yongin, Cheongju and a new southwestern cluster, with spending tied to market demand, customer commitments and infrastructure readiness. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/)[[7]](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/13/inside-sk-hynixs-720-billion-bet-to-build-enough-memory-for-ai.html) That distinction matters. The 1,100 trillion-won figure is a long-range framework, not a single check or a fully committed near-term capital budget. SK hynix says investments in facilities and production equipment will be made in stages, and that the 600 trillion-won Yongin total will extend beyond the 2033 construction milestone. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/) ## What the 1,100 trillion won covers SK hynix’s June 29 plan assigns 600 trillion won to the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, 100 trillion won to its Cheongju production base and 400 trillion won to a proposed southwestern cluster. The company says the programs are intended to address demand for HBM, server DRAM, NAND and enterprise SSDs as AI infrastructure expands. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/)[[2]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-07/) Yongin is the most advanced of the three projects. SK hynix says the cluster’s fourth fab is now targeted for completion in 2033, 12 years earlier than the former 2045 schedule. But the company defines 2033 as the completion of construction of the fourth fab’s first cleanroom—not the end of the entire 600 trillion-won program. Additional cleanrooms, facilities and equipment will be added in phases. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/) The southwestern project is less developed. SK hynix has announced the 400 trillion-won ambition and described the region as a potential post-Yongin manufacturing base, but it has not yet identified a final site or published a complete fab-by-fab schedule. The company says location decisions will depend on land, electricity, water, transportation and workforce conditions. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/)[[8]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-06/) ## Nearer-term projects are more specific In Yongin, SK hynix approved an additional 21.6 trillion won for the first fab and five cleanrooms serving later phases. The company puts the total investment for construction of that first fab at about 31 trillion won when an earlier 9.4 trillion-won approval is included. The 21.6 trillion-won figure excludes equipment installation costs, an important qualification when comparing it with a total project estimate. [[9]](https://news.skhynix.com/new-facility-investment-for-yongin-semiconductor-cluster/) SK hynix moved the opening of the first Yongin cleanroom forward from May to February 2027. The 21.6 trillion-won facility investment itself runs through December 2030. Those dates describe the first fab and its supporting construction, not completion of the broader Yongin cluster. [[9]](https://news.skhynix.com/new-facility-investment-for-yongin-semiconductor-cluster/) Cheongju’s 100 trillion-won program is split between the M17 NAND fab, at approximately 80 trillion won, and P&T7, an advanced-packaging facility, at approximately 20 trillion won. SK hynix says M17 construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, with operations targeted for the first half of 2029. P&T7’s wafer-test line is targeted for completion by October 2027 and its wafer-level-packaging line by February 2028. [[2]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-07/)[[3]](https://news.skhynix.com/skhynix-chungju-pt7/) ## HBM demand is the immediate rationale SK hynix began mass-production shipments of HBM4 to major customers in the second quarter of 2026 and said it was ramping capacity. The company also announced a multi-year technology partnership with Nvidia covering next-generation memory for AI factories. Nvidia is identified as a customer and technology partner in those disclosures; SK hynix has not publicly named every customer covered by its long-term agreements. [[4]](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260729001053320)[[10]](https://news.skhynix.com/multi-year-tech-partnership-with-nvidia/) SK hynix reported second-quarter revenue of 79.3 trillion won and operating profit of 60.5 trillion won. In its earnings commentary, the company said customer demand exceeded available supply and referred to long-term agreements with about 10 key customers. Those are company-reported demand signals, not independent forecasts of the eventual size of the AI-memory market. [[4]](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260729001053320) Competitors are expanding as well. Samsung Electronics said its memory business posted record second-quarter results, scaled up HBM4 sales and shipped HBM4E samples to major customers. Samsung also said supply constraints were expected to continue despite production increases. Micron reported that HBM4 was in high-volume shipments for its lead customer’s platform and that qualification samples had reached multiple other customers. [[5]](https://news.samsungsemiconductor.com/global/samsung-electronics-announces-second-quarter-2026-results/)[[6]](https://investors.micron.com/node/50671) ## Power and water are part of the capacity plan The Korean buildout depends on public infrastructure as well as private fab spending. Government agencies, KEPCO, K-water, Samsung and SK hynix have been coordinating power and industrial-water projects for the Yongin cluster. A government plan calls for phased power supply, including a 3-gigawatt LNG plant in the first phase and long-distance transmission lines in a later phase. [[11]](https://www.korea.net/Government/Briefing-Room/Press-Releases/view?articleId=5899&insttCode=A260122&type=N) Water infrastructure is also being built in stages. South Korea’s Environment Ministry says a 46.9-kilometer dedicated pipeline from the Paldang Dam area to Yongin is planned, with first-stage supply of 310,000 cubic meters per day beginning in 2031 and the full project targeting 1.072 million cubic meters per day by 2034. [[12]](https://www.me.go.kr/home/web/newsRead.do%3Bjsessionid%3DkZDebPiBJC-wbteD3eX0aQZLn54tNdsH-AhKRp_S.mehome2?boardId=1742460&boardMasterId=939&condition.boardId=1741850&condition.code=null&condition.createDeptName=null&condition.deleteYn=N&condition.fromDate=null&condition.inactiveYn=null&condition.pageIndex=null&condition.rnSeq=1285&condition.toDate=null&maxIndexPages=10&maxPageItems=10&menuId=10607&orgCd=null&pagerOffset=1270&searchKey=null&searchValue=null) Those schedules show why the dollar headline can obscure the real time horizon. A meaningful portion of the 1,100 trillion-won strategy is contingent on future facilities, utilities and equipment decisions. SK hynix is making a large capacity bet on sustained AI demand, but the company’s disclosures do not establish that the full amount will be spent immediately or that every planned site will ultimately run at HBM capacity. [[1]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/)[[8]](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-06/) ## Companies mentioned ## Further sources [[1] SK hynix’s June 29, 2026 investment-strategy explainer states that the company’… ↗](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-05/) [[2] SK hynix’s July 2, 2026 Cheongju announcement assigns 100 trillion won to the r… ↗](https://news.skhynix.com/fact-07/) [[3] SK hynix’s P&T7 project update describes the advanced-packaging facility’s wafe… ↗](https://news.skhynix.com/skhynix-chungju-pt7/) [[4] SK hynix’s second-quarter 2026 results, as reported by Yonhap, state that HBM4 … ↗](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260729001053320) [[5] Samsung Electronics’ July 30, 2026 second-quarter results report record memory … ↗](https://news.samsungsemiconductor.com/global/samsung-electronics-announces-second-quarter-2026-results/) [[6] Micron’s fiscal third-quarter 2026 release says HBM4 was in high-volume shipmen… ↗](https://investors.micron.com/node/50671)+6 more The stories that matter, in one email. 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