A rendering of SK hynix’s Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in Gyeonggi Province (SK hynix) SK hynix said Friday it will invest about 54 trillion won ($38.1 billion) to build new semiconductor fabs in Yongin and Cheongju, accelerating its capacity expansion as artificial intelligence drives demand for memory chips.The chipmaker’s board approved 35.2 trillion won for Y2, its second fab at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in Gyeonggi Province, and 19.1 trillion won for M17, a new NAND flash production facility in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.The investments are part of a long-term expansion plan announced in June, under which SK hynix plans to spend 600 trillion won on the Yongin cluster and another 100 trillion won to expand its production base in Cheongju.“In the AI era, technological competitiveness alone is not enough. The ability to supply customers with the products they need when they need them is itself a source of competitiveness,” an SK hynix official said. “We decided on the investment after a careful review of demand.”Y2 will be the second of four fabs planned for the Yongin cluster, with a total floor area of about 1.13 million square meters.Construction is scheduled to begin in July next year, with the first clean room set to open in June 2029. The fab will produce next-generation DRAM products, including high-bandwidth memory, a key component in AI accelerators.Investment in Y2 will be carried out in phases through October 2031.SK hynix is currently building Y1, the first fab at the cluster, with its first clean room scheduled to open in February next year. The company has brought forward its target for completing all four Yongin fabs to 2033 from the original 2045 timeline.The Yongin cluster, spanning about 4.2 million square meters in the city’s Wonsam district, is also nearing completion of the first phase of its power and water infrastructure, with work 99 percent complete. A rendering of SK hynix’s M17 fab in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province (SK hynix) In Cheongju, M17 will cover about 681,000 square meters, with construction scheduled to begin in February 2027 and its first clean room slated to open in December 2028. Investments will be made in phases through April 2031.SK hynix already operates its M11, M12 and M15 NAND fabs in Cheongju, allowing the new facility to tap existing land, power and water infrastructure and link up with nearby production lines.“This investment is aimed at ensuring we do not miss opportunities as the market grows,” an SK hynix official said. “By securing production infrastructure ahead of demand, we aim to become a key AI infrastructure partner contributing to a stable global AI semiconductor supply chain.”