Samsung Electronics breaks ground on new HBM packaging facility in Asan

Samsung Electronics broke ground on a new semiconductor packaging facility at its Onyang campus in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, Thursday as part of a 144 trillion-won ($108.4 billion) investment plan by the company and three affiliates to expand advanced manufacturing capacity in the region.

The company held a groundbreaking ceremony at the campus, joined by President Lee Jae Myung, Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hyeong-il, South Chungcheong Province Gov. Park Soo-hyun and about 100 executives and employees from Samsung and its partner companies.

The new production line, aimed at beginning operations in June 2028, a year ahead of the original schedule, will expand the campus' role beyond conventional semiconductor assembly and testing to include advanced high bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging.

"Through today's groundbreaking ceremony, we pledge to take another leap forward," Lee Jae-yong said. "This site, which has traditionally focused on simply assembling and testing conventional semiconductors, will become a leading hub for advanced HBM, the heart of AI [artificial intelligence] semiconductors.”

Samsung Electronics is investing 46 trillion won in Onyang for the new HBM production lines, with 6 trillion won for construction and 40 trillion won for advanced equipment to be installed in stages.

The spending is part of Samsung Electronics' 60 trillion-won investment commitment across the Chungcheong provinces, which includes expanding semiconductor production capacity in Onyang and nearby Cheonan.

The new fifth line will feature about 31,000 square meters of cleanroom space across three floors. Once completed, it will increase the campus' total floor area to approximately 420,000 square meters from 270,000 square meters. The facility is expected to create around 700 jobs, while construction is projected to generate 2.6 trillion won in economic output with an average of 3,400 workers employed daily during the period.

President Lee Jae Myung pledged government support to accelerate the projects, including streamlined permits and infrastructure development.

"To ensure that all investment plans in the Chungcheong, Honam and Yeongnam regions proceed without a hitch, the central and local governments will work as one team to ensure that all necessary permits are handled and key infrastructure, including power and water supplies, is put in place," the president said. Honam refers to the Jeolla provinces in the western part of Korea, while Yeongnam refers to the Gyeongsang provinces in the eastern part of the country.

Samsung Electronics is accelerating the plant's operations to meet growing demand for server memory chips. During its third-quarter earnings announcement last month, the company said it had completed negotiations over its HBM supply volumes for 2027, but customers were requesting additional supplies. The company also expects supply shortages to persist through 2028.

The investment is part of a broader expansion by Samsung Group across the Chungcheong region. Along with Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display plans to invest 67 trillion won in Asan and Cheonan, including 5.9 trillion won for a new OLED production line for foldable devices, laptops and tablets. The facility, which began construction last month, is targeting mass production in the second half of 2029.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics will invest 8 trillion won in the region, including 4.27 trillion won in its Sejong facility to expand flip-chip ball grid array substrate production, which is used in AI servers and other high-performance computing applications. A new plant is scheduled to begin mass production in September 2028.

Samsung SDI plans to invest 9 trillion won in Cheonan to build up facilities for developing next-generation battery technologies and validating new production processes.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place about four months after Samsung Group announced its investment plan for the Chungcheong region in July. South Chungcheong Province and Asan City accelerated the start of construction by reducing the time required for regulatory approvals and permits to one-third of the usual period.