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| President Park Geun-hye talks with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won during a ceremony Tuesday to mark SK hynix's latest chip manufacturing line — M14 — in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, where the headquarters of SK hynix are located. / Yonhap |
By Kim Yoo-chul
SK hynix said Tuesday it will build two new chip plants over the next eight years at a cost of 31 trillion won ($26 billion).
The two highly advanced memory chip-producing plants will be built in Icheon and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, by 2023 where it will produce NAND flash memory chips.
The investment was disclosed at a ceremony for the completion of the world's largest semiconductor plant, M 14, in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
President Park Geun-hye participated in the ceremony and cheered the company's decision to expand investment.
"I wish to express my sincere appreciation to executives at SK hynix, the trade ministry and government officials who supported the construction of the latest facilities," Park said.
SK hynix is the SK Group's semiconductor affiliate and runner-up to Samsung Electronics in the global memory chip industry.
The M14 line, built on 66,000 square meters, will produce up to 200,000 12-inch wafers on a monthly basis.
"Korea's leadership in manufacturing is being challenged. A new order prevails in industries that Korean companies have strength and advantages in amid growing rivalry. This is why SK's massive chip investment has substantial meaning," President Park said.
Park said the government will tackle regulatory hurdles to attract more investment from big companies.
"Another point is that the local semiconductor industry is needed to create a better ecosystem. For example, Korea's presence in logic-chips is relatively weaker than its strength in conventional memory chips, meaning that companies should invest more to find qualified local ventures and for the development of new materials and equipment," she said.
SK Chairman Chey Tae-won pledged to hire more.
"SK will remain the strongest supporter to help creative economy centers become the backbone of the Korean economy. The group will share benefits with partners," Chey said.
The SK Group's investment is focused on strengthening its leadership in memory chips.
It currently operates 12-inch wafer-producing M10 and M14 facilities in Icheon, M11 and M12 in Cheongju, and HC2 in Wuxi, China. It also runs 8-inch wafer facilities for logic chips in Cheongju.
"Migration into thinner technology is getting tougher and tougher, while SK hynix also needs to address issues to simplify chip-making processes. The memory chip market is seeing a sign of uncertainty. However, SK hynix aims to lead over the company's rivals by taking preemptive measures," SK said in a statement.
