Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK: "We Will Double Wafer Capacity in 5 Years... Will Procure Everything Regardless of Cost"

"At Least Three Years to Build a New Fab," Chey Notes Limits to Capacity Expansion
On Nvidia and TSMC Partnerships: "We Provide What Customers Want"

Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, has unveiled a plan to double the group's total wafer production capacity within the next five years in order to secure leadership in the global artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market.

On June 2nd, at the 'Computex 2026' held in Taipei, Taiwan, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (left) and Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, are taking a commemorative photo at the SK hynix booth. Photo by Joint Press Corps

At 'Computex 2026' held in Taipei, Taiwan on June 2, Chairman Chey met with reporters and diagnosed that there are multiple bottlenecks in the process of expanding the AI industry. He explained that not only graphics processing units (GPUs) or memory chips, but also energy, electricity, equipment, and water are all constraints. He stated, "It takes at least three years to build a new semiconductor fabrication plant (fab), and if you start from scratch, it can take more than five years," adding, "This is a significant obstacle we must overcome."

Regarding previous forecasts that the AI memory bottleneck could persist until 2030, he said, "I still expect that to be the case," and presented a comprehensive plan to expand production capacity. Chairman Chey declared, "At full speed, we plan to double our total capacity within the next five years," adding, "There will be many obstacles, but we will overcome them and further expand our capacity."

On the scale of facility investments, he commented, "We have not pre-calculated the total investment amount," but emphasized, "Even if the costs of equipment, construction, land, water, and electricity all rise, we will procure whatever is necessary."

Regarding the outlook for DRAM and HBM prices, he stated, "If there is a shortage of supply, prices will be affected," but also noted, "Sustainability is essential for the AI industry ecosystem." He added, "A sudden surge in prices could harm the entire ecosystem, so we must address this together."

He also commented on the cooperative relationship between SK hynix and TSMC. When asked to compare the 'triangular alliance' among NVIDIA, TSMC, and SK hynix with Samsung Electronics' 'all-in-one' strategy, Chairman Chey responded, "If customers want something, we provide it," adding, "We have maintained an excellent partnership with TSMC and hope to supply products on time and within budget."

Regarding the roadmap for next-generation products such as HBM4E, he said, "We must be ready when our customers are ready, and we will be prepared," and added, "The roadmap is entirely up to the customers. Currently, there is only one customer for HBM4E."

He also reaffirmed the cooperative relationship with NVIDIA. Regarding his recent series of meetings with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Chairman Chey said, "We share a friendship based on mutual trust and reliance," adding, "I cannot disclose the specific content of our conversations, but we will firmly maintain our partnership and move forward together for a very long time."

On the supply chain for NVIDIA's next-generation AI architecture, 'Vera Rubin,' he said, "We hope to remain a key supplier," adding, "It depends on the customer's decision, but we hope this will continue in the future."

Chairman Chey presented the 'AI Factory' as a new opportunity for SK Group in the AI era. He said, "We are currently producing memory chips for AI, but in the future, I want to take on the challenge of how to create an AI Factory," adding, "An AI Factory that produces more intelligence would benefit humanity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.