SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung dropped a sobering prediction on July 10: the global memory chip industry is heading into its worst supply shortage ever in 2027, and demand won’t stop outpacing supply until well after 2030.
The warning came on the same day SK Hynix began trading its American depositary receipts on Nasdaq.
A 20% wafer gap with no quick fix
The core problem is straightforward, even if the solution isn’t. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won flagged a structural wafer shortage exceeding 20% back in March 2026. That gap, he warned, won’t close until after 2030 because scaling up semiconductor production capacity takes years, not months.
SK Hynix’s response is ambitious: the company plans to double its memory wafer production over the next five years. It’s also exploring the possibility of building a manufacturing facility in the US.
