Chey Tae-won: "2,100 Trillion Won Investment in AI and Semiconductors... Yongin Cluster to Be Completed 12 Years Ahead of Schedule"

Chey Tae-won Unveils National Infrastructure Blueprint at Public Report Meeting

1,000 Trillion Won to Be Invested in AI Data Centers by 2035

1,100 Trillion Won for Semiconductor Supply Expansion Projects

SK Group has unveiled a massive investment plan totaling 2,100 trillion won to transform South Korea from an artificial intelligence (AI) consumer nation into an "intelligence exporter." The group intends to invest 1,000 trillion won in building a national AI infrastructure by 2035 and to allocate 1,100 trillion won to expanding semiconductor supply in order to address the global memory shortage.

On June 29, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won announced this investment plan at the "Korea Grand Leap: Three Major Mega Projects National Report Meeting," presided over by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House. He stated, "For South Korea to survive in the AI era, we must quickly establish 'AI factories'—not just data storage facilities, but factories that produce intelligence—on a national scale."

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group is announcing the investment plan at the National Report Meeting on the Three Major Mega Projects chaired by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Chairman Chey declared, "It is time to move beyond exporting products to exporting intelligence," announcing that SK Telecom will spearhead the construction of AI data centers with a total capacity of 15 gigawatts (GW) across various regions of the country.

SK plans to begin with the first phase by rapidly building data centers with a total capacity of 5GW in several regions where power and land are already secured. To promote regional co-prosperity and efficient power distribution, the centers will be built simultaneously across the country in units of 0.5GW to 1GW. Subsequently, the second phase will see the infrastructure expanded by an additional 10GW, depending on market demand and the availability of power and water resources.

Chairman Chey emphasized, "This project will become the heart of South Korea's AI ecosystem, powering robots and physical AI," pledging that "approximately 1,000 trillion won will be invested by 2035, together with various partners."

He also revealed that, to prevent excessive memory shortages from driving up prices and shrinking the future AI market, the group has made the bold decision to accelerate the originally planned schedule for building semiconductor production lines.

The most notable change is the accelerated completion timeline for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. To meet the surging demand for next-generation DRAM, such as high bandwidth memory (HBM), SK hynix has decided to move up the completion of the Yongin cluster—originally scheduled for 2045—by 12 years. Furthermore, SK will invest approximately 600 trillion won early in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster to ramp up DRAM production, and about 100 trillion won to rapidly expand NAND flash production capacity at its Cheongju plant.

President Lee Jae-myung and Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, are shaking hands after presenting corporate investment plans at the National Report Meeting on the 3 Major Mega Projects held at the Blue House on the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News

Chairman Chey noted, "It has already taken nine years just to establish the infrastructure for the Yongin cluster, and the four major requirements—large-scale land, power, water, and workforce—are still urgently needed." He added, "To fundamentally resolve supply bottlenecks, SK hynix plans to invest about 400 trillion won to create an additional semiconductor cluster in the southwest region, where infrastructure satisfaction is expected to be high." As a result, a total of 1,100 trillion won will be invested in projects to expand semiconductor supply: 600 trillion won in Yongin, 100 trillion won in Cheongju, and 400 trillion won in the southwest region.

According to SK Group's future blueprint, more than 1,000 trillion won—an average of over 100 trillion won annually—will continuously flow into the domestic market over the next decade to invigorate the country's industrial ecosystem. Chairman Chey also made it clear that thorough management of financial risks will ensure this large-scale investment goes beyond mere declaration.

Chairman Chey stated, "We have meticulously prepared a finance plan that fully takes into account market volatility and risks," adding, "With bold vision and rigorous preparation, we will strive to lead the global AI ecosystem."

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