According to South Korean media, DealSite, SK hynix is stepping up investment for its planned semiconductor production complex in the southwestern Gwangju region. It is said that the company is internally exploring a plan to pursue investment in both the Yongin semiconductor cluster and Gwangju in parallel.
Investment Timeline Accelerated, Yongin and Gwangju May Proceed in Parallel Rather Than Sequentially
Investment in the new Yongin fab is currently proceeding as planned. According to industry sources, SK hynix aims to start using the Phase1 cleanroom of the first fab operational by February 2027, and Phase2 by August of the same year. It is said that the equipment deployment scope for Phase1 has been largely finalized.
However, industry sources indicate that SK hynix is also considering moving up the investment timeline for Gwangju. Previously, industry expectations were that Gwangju investment would follow only after the ongoing Yongin semiconductor‑cluster investment reached a certain stage. However, it is reported that the company has recently been discussing internally the possibility of pursuing both Yongin and Gwangju investments simultaneously.
Industry sources say the government has recently been accelerating the plan to establish a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region, centered around the Gwangju military airport site. The Gwangju military‑airport site already has basic infrastructure in place, so its investment could be expedited. The Wonsam‑myeon site hosting the Yongin semiconductor cluster requires substantial time for land leveling and infrastructure construction. In contrast, the Gwangju Military Airport can utilize existing airport land, thereby relatively shortening the time needed for land preparation.
It is said that the government will launch site preparation and foundation work at the Gwangju military‑airport site in 2027, targeting completion of its first wafer fab by 2029. On this site, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each plan to build two semiconductor wafer fabs, totalling four fabs. Samsung Electronics also intends to construct an AI computing center as a supporting facility, while SK Hynix plans to build an AI data center.
Equipment Order Allocation Plans Still Under Discussion, Equipment Vendors Currently Focused on the New Yongin Fab
Previously, market expectations held that constructing new fabs in Gwangju would bring additional equipment orders on top of the Yongin‑bound investment. However, given the possibility of splitting and re‑routing planned equipment allocations across two locations, the equipment industry is closely monitoring the actual scale of equipment procurements. One option under discussion involves allocating some of the equipment originally slated for deployment at Yongin to Gwangju.
An industry source from the equipment sector commented that considering SK hynix's overall investment scale, there is a high possibility that some equipment originally planned for Yongin will be redirected to Gwangju and allocated across both sites.
For equipment suppliers, the critical distinction lies in whether Gwangju‑related spending represents net‑new orders or merely a reallocation of equipment earmarked for Yongin. In the latter scenario, only equipment delivery destinations would shift, while the overall equipment‑order book size directly linked to revenue would see little meaningful change.
Nevertheless, no concrete equipment‑supply negotiations for the Gwangju fab have commenced to date. For now, vendors are finalizing next‑year equipment‑supply plans, with focus fixed on the new, already‑scheduled Yongin fab.
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