Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea visited SK hynix Cheongju Campus today where he took stock of the export and investment environment and held a conference with relevant companies. 

The Cheongju campus was initially SK hynix’s NAND flash production base, but with the recent introduction of through-silicon via (TSV) technology equipment, it is set to transform into a site for producing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) which will play a key role in the AI era. Once SK Hynix completes the Cheongju M15X fab in November as scheduled, the fab will serve as the production base for HBM DRAMs as well.

At today’s conference, attendees shared their forecast for next year’s semiconductor industry trends and exports and exchanged views on the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster project, MPE (materials, parts, equipment) R&D support, and chip manpower training. The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) projected that despite difficult conditions, this year’s chip exports will surpass USD 140 billion, higher than the record of $129.2 billion reached in 2022. Attendees further expressed special interest and support towards Trinity Fab, a testbed for securing anchor MPE technologies for advanced semiconductors.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) stated that with the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster’s power and water supply agreement being signed in November and enforcement plans for Korea’s national industrial complexes having obtained approval three months earlier than expected, all related procedures are making good progress. Minister Ahn underscored that in spite of the domestic political situation and other internal and external uncertainties, the Government will maintain its unwavering support for the semiconductor industry.