Key Facts

• Samsung and SK Hynix will invest a total of 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in new chip manufacturing facilities.
• The new factories will be built in the southwest region of South Korea, an area less developed industrially than Seoul.
• Each company will build two fabrication plants, expanding beyond their existing sites near Seoul.
• The project supports the South Korean government’s plan to spread industrial growth outside the capital area.
• These chip factories will help meet growing demand for memory chips driven by AI technology, such as data centers, robots, and self-driving cars.
• Building these new factories requires large sites with enough power, water, and skilled workers.
• The government says the region’s renewable energy resources will help provide cleaner electricity for the chip plants.
• President Lee emphasized the goal of quickly advancing South Korea’s AI industry by strengthening chip production and AI-related infrastructure.