Samsung and SK Hynix are building four semiconductor plants in South Korea

South Korea's tech giants are launching a massive initiative to address the global shortage of memory chips, according to Zamin.uz.

Samsung and SK Hynix have announced plans to invest 518 billion dollars in building four new semiconductor plants in the country's southwest region. The move aims to meet unprecedented demand for chips driven by the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies.

As emphasized during a presidential briefing on Monday, these investments are part of a broader national strategy covering AI, data centers, and robotics. Under the plan, in addition to memory chip production, another 52 billion dollars will be allocated for high-bandwidth memory in the central region.

Furthermore, companies such as SK, GS, and Naver will direct 356 billion dollars toward expanding AI data centers by 2035. In a televised address, President Jae Myung described semiconductors, robotics, and data centers as the three pillars of South Korea's future industry.

According to him, existing tech hubs near Seoul have reached their capacity limits, making it necessary to shift investments to border regions to ensure economic balance. 2026 is expected to be a breakthrough year for South Korea in the global market.

Currently, Samsung and SK Hynix are reaping significant profits from record demand for memory chips essential to AI systems. However, the global shortage is not only driving up prices but could also cause serious disruptions in supply chains.

To prevent this, Korean manufacturers are proactively expanding production capacity. Samsung plans to invest a total of 1.7 trillion dollars over the next decade, with a significant portion going to new factories in Gwangju and Haenam, as well as AI centers.

Company officials say these locations were chosen due to their advantages in energy, water supply, and skilled labor. These metrics could surpass the 650 billion dollars that giants like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are set to spend this year alone on AI infrastructure.

SK Group has also unveiled its own long-term roadmap worth 1.4 trillion dollars. Under it, SK Hynix will expand semiconductor production, while SK Telecom will focus on building AI data centers with a total capacity of 15 gigawatts nationwide.

A large share of these investments will go toward the technical infrastructure needed to train and run AI models. The government views these projects as foundational to national economic security and technological independence.