SK Hynix Breaks Ground on New 'P&T7' Fab in Cheongju, Driving Regional Balance as AI Memory Hub

Fifth Production Facility to Be Built in Cheongju
Expected to Create 3,000 Jobs After Completion

SK Hynix will establish an advanced packaging-dedicated fab in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, with an investment of 19 trillion won, to meet the rising global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory semiconductors.

A bird's-eye view of the new fab 'P&T7' being constructed by SK Hynix in Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk. SK Hynix

On April 22, SK Hynix announced that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for 'P&T7' at the Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. P&T7 is a facility that packages semiconductor chips produced in the front-end fabs into finished products and conducts final quality verification. It is expected to become a key production base for supplying large quantities to the AI memory market.

P&T7 will be built on a site of approximately 230,000 square meters (about 70,000 pyeong) within the Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex. The facility will house three floors of wafer-level packaging (WLP) process lines totaling about 60,000 square meters (around 18,000 pyeong) and seven floors of wafer test (WT) process lines totaling about 90,000 square meters (about 28,000 pyeong). Together, the cleanroom area alone will reach approximately 150,000 square meters (46,000 pyeong). Following the groundbreaking, the construction aims to complete the WT line by October 2027 and the WLP line by February 2028, in sequential order.

SK Hynix stated that, from the stage of selecting the P&T7 site, it prioritized the importance of balanced regional growth and the ripple effect on the industrial ecosystem as a whole. In the mid- to long-term, the company plans to strengthen the national industrial base and establish a virtuous cycle where both local regions and the greater Seoul area can grow together by shifting the industry’s center of gravity away from the capital region.

P&T7 will be SK Hynix’s fifth production facility in Cheongju, following M11, M12, M15, and M15X. Expectations are rising that, once completed and synergy with the adjacent existing production bases begins, Cheongju will become the core next-generation AI memory production hub for SK Hynix.

This large-scale investment is expected to revitalize the entire Cheongju region economically. During construction, a daily average of 320 workers, with a peak of up to 9,000 personnel, will be deployed at the site. Even after completion, approximately 3,000 specialized personnel will be stationed on-site to ensure smooth operation, leading to the creation of a large number of high-quality jobs. Infrastructure improvements, such as expanded transportation networks, are also expected to follow as the large-scale industrial complex becomes more active.

SK Hynix stated, "P&T7 will go beyond simply expanding production facilities to become a key pillar driving balanced regional growth," adding, "We will continue to work in genuine partnership with local communities and set a successful milestone for balanced national development." Meanwhile, SK Hynix plans to continue reviewing options for diversifying domestic sites to contribute to balanced regional development when considering additional expansion of back-end fabs to meet AI demand.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by 125 SK Hynix employees including Byunggi Lee, Head of Mass Production, as well as 40 employees' family members and 20 employees from SK Ecoplant, the construction contractor. Lee stated, "P&T7 will serve as the core production base that completes SK Hynix's AI memory leadership. We will focus our manufacturing capabilities to ensure that the advanced products produced here become the global standard for AI infrastructure, while also pursuing both national industrial competitiveness and regional coexistence through close communication with the local community to achieve a successful business model."

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