SK hynix Reportedly Plans to Purchase KRW 400 Billion in Semiconductor Test Equipment

According to THE ELEC citing industry sources, SK hynix is in talks with equipment suppliers regarding the supply of semiconductor test equipment for its Cheongju P&T7 plant.

P&T7 is SK hynix's next-generation semiconductor back-end packaging and testing facility being built at the Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex in North Chungcheong Province. The plant will be used to produce high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The P&T7 site covers approximately 230,000 square meters. Preliminary estimates place the total construction and equipment investment for the P&T7 facility at around KRW 19 trillion, though this figure may increase.

It is estimated that the plant will require approximately 200 test equipment units, including HBM4 testers. Based on a unit price of KRW 1.5 billion to KRW 2 billion per machine, the total equipment value could reach as high as KRW 400 billion.

The wafer test (WT) production line at P&T7, used for semiconductor testing, is expected to be completed by October next year, at which time the cleanroom will also become operational. Equipment can only be installed after the cleanroom is operational, meaning that suppliers and customers need to begin coordinating supply plans approximately one year before purchase orders are placed. Currently, equipment suppliers are coordinating estimated delivery volumes for next year.

Industry insiders indicated that SK hynix had initially planned to order around 200 test equipment units this year, but later reduced the order volume and deferred some orders to the second half of the year. The deferred demand may be concentrated in next year's P&T7 project.