SK hynix to Invest €33.1 Billion in New Memory Factories Despite Chip Shortage

According to Hardwareluxx, the majority of these investments—**€21.4 billion**—will be directed toward building a new DRAM fabrication plant, Y2, in the Yongin cluster south of Seoul. The remaining **€11.6 billion** will go toward expanding the M17 factory dedicated to NAND memory production, located in Cheongju.

The board of directors has already approved these plans. Construction of the new Y2 DRAM plant is scheduled to begin in July 2027, with the first cleanroom hall expected to come online by June 2029. This facility will produce High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM products.

Y2 will be the second factory in the Yongin cluster, where the Y1 plant is already operational. The first cleanroom at Y1 was scheduled to be ready for initial production even earlier, in February 2027. The company aims to complete construction of the entire Yongin cluster by 2033, which is twelve years ahead of the original schedule.

Cheongju was selected for the new NAND Flash factory because it allows for the fastest construction timeline. The site already hosts factories M11, M12, and M15, making it easy to integrate into existing infrastructure such as power grids and water supplies. In the long term, SK hynix plans to invest an additional €365 billion in the Yongin cluster and approximately €61 billion at the Cheongju site.

According to SK hynix management, technological superiority alone is no longer sufficient; the ability to deliver required volumes exactly when customers need them is now decisive. This investment also supports South Korea's state initiative to position the country as a leading hub for advanced technologies in the AI era.