SK Hynix has broken ground on its first semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) within the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
According to SK Hynix’s newsroom on Tuesday, the company officially began construction on the first fab of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster the previous day.
SK Hynix had planned to start construction of the first fab next month, but Yongin City’s swift approval of the building permit on February 21 allowed the company to move up its timeline.
Yongin Semiconductor Cluster is a semiconductor industrial complex in Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin City. It covers approximately 4.15 million square meters (1,025 acres), with about 2 million square meters (494 acres) allocated for SK Hynix’s fab, 460,000 square meters (113 acres) for a cooperation complex for material, parts, and equipment, and 400,000 square meters (99 acres) for infrastructure.
SK Hynix plans to construct four fabs in phases, with the first fab scheduled to be completed by May 2027.
The company intends to use the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster as a production hub for next-generation DRAM memory, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM). This strategic move aims to respond promptly to the growing demand for AI memory semiconductors and drive the company’s mid-to-long-term growth.
The SK Hynix’s Yongin campus will play a crucial role in producing cutting-edge DRAM memory, including HBM, to promptly respond to the surging demand for AI memory semiconductors and bolster the company’s future growth prospects.
Within the first fab, SK Hynix plans to establish a “mini-fab” to support technology development, validation, and evaluation for small and medium-sized enterprises in Korea’s materials, components, and equipment sector. This mini-fab will be a research facility with 300mm (12 inches) wafer processing equipment for testing semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment.
SK Hynix explained that it will collaborate with over 50 semiconductor material, part, and equipment companies within the cluster to enhance the competitiveness of South Korea’s semiconductor ecosystem.
Chey Tae Won, Chairman of SK Group, visited the site of the Yongin Cluster during land preparation in September 2023. He emphasized, “The Yongin Cluster is the most meticulously planned and strategically driven project in SK Hynix’s history. We must push ourselves beyond our usual practices and embrace new challenges.”
