SK Chairman Choi Tae-won: "Pushing to Establish Joint Memory Chip Factory in Japan"

*This content was translated by AI.

SK Hynix is pursuing plans to establish a joint memory semiconductor factory in Japan. This move aims to respond to surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips while reducing production costs. This marks the first time that SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won has specifically addressed the construction of such a factory.

On the 31st, during an interview with Bloomberg News at a Korea-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry meeting in Sendai, Japan, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won stated regarding potential sites for the joint factory: "We are reviewing locations across Japan. Anywhere in Japan with abundant electricity and water resources is under consideration."

However, he refrained from disclosing details on potential partners, specific candidate locations within Japan, or production items.

He emphasized that any location with reliable electricity and water supply could be a target. It is understood that he did not answer questions regarding potential partners for the project or specific sites within Japan.

This statement is interpreted as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation with local customers and suppliers. SK Hynix indirectly holds approximately 14% of shares in Kioxia, a flash memory manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo. In Japan, key materials and equipment partners include Namics and Tokyo Electron, alongside Micron Technology, which operates a factory in Hiroshima. Major customers include Nintendo and Sony Group.

It is also believed that the Japanese government's active support has influenced this decision. The Japanese government is providing large-scale subsidies to foreign semiconductor companies like TSMC to expand their domestic production facilities.

Earlier, on the 27th, immediately after a groundbreaking ceremony in Indiana, USA, SK Hynix President Kwak No-jeong stated: "We are exploring how to jointly develop the NAND flash market together with customers and suppliers in Japan."

Meanwhile, SK Hynix is accelerating capacity expansion to meet surging demand for memory semiconductors. This month, it has confirmed investments totaling 54.3 trillion won: 35.2 trillion won for Phase 2 of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster Fab (Y2) and 19.1 trillion won for the Cheongju NAND production base M17. In the United States, it is investing $3.87 billion (approximately 5.31 trillion won) to construct "Indiana Fab," a next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) Advanced Packaging production facility.

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*This content was translated by AI.