AI demand drives South Korean chip giant Samsung to accelerate production expansion, as its Yongin wafer fab plans to start mass production two years ahead of schedule.

Samsung Electronics plans to bring forward the mass production timeline of the first wafer fab at its Yongin semiconductor cluster in South Korea by two years, targeting to start operations in October 2029. Separately, SK Hynix is considering building new production facilities in the U.S., as AI demand drives South Korean semiconductor firms to accelerate expansion plans. Samsung originally planned to construct a total of six wafer fabs at the Yongin National Industrial Park, with the first unit scheduled to launch operations in 2031. Now, the South Korean government and Samsung have reached a consensus to advance the timeline to October 2029. The government will speed up the construction of key infrastructure including land development, power supply, and water resources to support the project’s early progress. For SK Hynix, following its successful listing on the NASDAQ on July 10, the company is weighing plans to build a new production base in the U.S. According to reports, SK Hynix has been studying the establishment of a semiconductor production hub in the U.S.—a region with a concentrated AI industry ecosystem—since the start of this year. Global storage chip leaders including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are ramping up production capacity to ease the chip supply crunch spurred by the AI sector. The South Korean government is also pushing for the development of new semiconductor industrial parks, and plans to accelerate project delivery by simplifying environmental assessments and optimizing approval processes. Industry insiders noted that while market concerns linger over a peak in the semiconductor cycle, current demand for chip production capacity remains robust. To compete for industrial dominance in the AI era, expanding semiconductor manufacturing capacity has become a key priority.