SK hynix said it will invest KRW 100 trillion in Cheongju, putting a disclosed price tag on a Korean AI memory expansion plan that combines a new NAND fab with an advanced packaging facility.

The SK hynix KRW 100 trillion Cheongju NAND investment plan is built around M17, a planned NAND production fab, and P&T7, a packaging site the company said is due by the end of 2027.

The company said the Chungcheong Region already has land, power and water infrastructure prepared for rapid fab construction.

SK hynix framed the plan around rising demand for enterprise SSDs and NAND flash memory as AI services expand, but the announcement did not name customers or signed supply commitments for the new capacity.

KRW 80 Trillion Goes To M17 NAND Fab

SK hynix said KRW 80 trillion of the Cheongju investment is allocated to M17, a new NAND fabrication facility.

The company said construction of M17 is scheduled to begin next year, with operations targeted for the first half of 2029.

CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said the current supply shortage and surging demand made production expansion essential.

He said Cheongju was the optimal site for rapid and efficient NAND fab expansion because the location can coordinate with the existing Cheongju fab and already has prepared infrastructure.

SK hynix linked the expansion to enterprise SSDs, NAND flash memory, HBM and server DRAM demand.

The company said agentic and physical AI are expected to expand the applications and demand for NAND products, leaving the demand forecast as part of SK hynix's own investment case.

P&T7 Is Due By The End Of 2027

SK hynix said KRW 20 trillion will be invested in P&T7 and other facilities.

SK hynix said P&T7 should be finished by the end of 2027, with the site assigned to advanced packaging work.

SK hynix presented NAND, HBM and advanced packaging as areas where it has already made progress in the Chungcheong Region.

The company did not describe P&T7's packaging technologies in detail, name equipment suppliers or disclose customer qualification schedules.

SK hynix said the investment was introduced during a Chungcheong advanced-industries briefing at Samsung Display's Asan Campus in South Chungcheong Province.

SK hynix said the plan is intended to re-establish Cheongju as a key hub for Korea's memory semiconductor competitiveness.

Chungcheong AI Data Centre Plan Adds 1 GW

SK Group said it plans to expand AI data centre infrastructure nationwide alongside its semiconductor production bases.

The group said it plans to phase in 15 GW of AI data centre capacity across South Korea, starting with an initial 5 GW.

For Chungcheong, SK Group said a 1 GW AI data centre will be built to support an AI industrial ecosystem where semiconductor production and AI computing operate in the same region.

The announcement did not identify the data centre operator, power-procurement contracts, grid-interconnection terms, construction cost or first compute customers.

SK hynix disclosed a large capacity-expansion timetable and facility split, but not commercial proof that the added NAND and packaging capacity is already sold.

SK hynix did not disclose named customers, order volumes, utilisation targets, equipment suppliers, signed supply commitments or final ramp milestones for M17 and P&T7.