SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, left, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appear for a media interview after their meeting at the SK Group headquarters in Jongno District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's recent moves in Japan have raised fresh questions about whether the group's investment strategy runs counter to the government's push for major technology firms to expand investment in Korea's regional economies.
In an interview with the Nihon Keizai Shimbun published on Thursday, Chey said SK is planning to build an artificial intelligence (AI) factory in Japan “in a timeline between 2028 and 2029.”
He also said SK hynix could review plans to establish overseas production bases if additional memory fabrication capacity is required in the future. Describing Japan as “a very strong candidate,” Chey noted that the country has a well-established semiconductor ecosystem with a high concentration of equipment and materials companies.
The remarks came at a time when the Lee Jae Myung administration is intensifying efforts to attract major technology investments to regional areas, particularly the Honam region — encompassing Gwangju and the South and North Jeolla provinces — a traditional stronghold of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).
