https://www.hankyung.com/article/2026050723801
[Exclusive] Deficit of 15 trillion won, "Couldn't sell because there was none"...Samsung 'Ultra-strong water'
Semiconductor INSIGHT
Semiconductor race...Samsung to move up construction of new plant
AI memory demand surge response
World's largest scale in a single factory
Samsung Electronics will start construction of the last production line, P5 Fab 2 (P6), at its Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek semiconductor plant in July. The construction start date was moved up by about six months from the initial schedule of early next year.
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According to industry sources on the 7th, Samsung Electronics has confirmed the start of construction of P5 Fab 2 in July and has begun pre-construction preparations such as site suspension work. The target is to start operation in 2029.
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The Pyeongtaek plant, which had been stagnant, recently heated up due to the boom in artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung Electronics, which announced a brilliant revival by recording an operating profit of 57 trillion won in the first quarter of this year, is aggressively investing in facilities to meet the increasing demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and foundry (semiconductor consignment production).
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Samsung Electronics' rush is due to the explosive demand driven by AI infrastructure expansion, which is intensifying the memory shortage. According to market research firm DRAM Exchange, the fixed transaction price of DDR4 DRAM for PCs, an older model, soared nearly 10 times in a year from $1.65 in April last year to $16 in April this year.
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Changes in the perception of the foundry market are also said to be influencing Samsung Electronics' rush. Nvidia, Tesla, Qualcomm and other big techs that had previously relied solely on Taiwan TSMC have significantly strengthened their cooperation with Samsung Foundry for supply chain diversification and risk dispersion. Securing production bases to accommodate them will become a key variable in determining the outcome of future market share battles.
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Competition is also fierce. SK Hynix has decided to install D램 production equipment capable of producing 70,000 units per month at its new Chungbuk Cheongju plant M15X by the end of this year.
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Micron Technology in the US also joined. Micron is building advanced memory fabs, including HBM, in New York and Iowa, USA. Including the expansion of the Hiroshima plant in Japan, Micron's production capacity is also expected to increase rapidly within 2-3 years.
