SK hynix plans to build semiconductor plant in Japan; South Korean netizens say, “A rational choice,” and ask, “What about relations with the United States?”

South Korean semiconductor giant SK hynix is reportedly advancing plans to build a memory semiconductor production plant in Miyagi Prefecture. According to people familiar with the matter, the investment is expected to amount to several trillion yen, and the project could be the first case of the company establishing a large-scale production base in Japan. Miyagi Prefecture is one of the major hubs for the semiconductor industry promoted by the government, and Choi Tae-won (崔泰源), chairman of SK Group, is said to have visited the area.

SK hynix is reportedly planning to establish a relatively small base in Japan while continuing its ongoing investments in the Yongin and Icheon clusters. The plan is believed to be driven by growing global demand for memory semiconductors and the expansion of AI-related industries, with the aim of securing production capacity ahead of demand.

If the plan goes ahead, the company would join U.S.-based Micron and Taiwan's TSMC as one of the major foreign companies with a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan. Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, has a research base in Yokohama, but its facility differs in nature from a large-scale production base. As the United States encourages South Korean companies to invest domestically, some observers have pointed out that a large-scale investment in Japan could affect relations with the United States.

South Korean online commentators have expressed both support and opposition, citing the rationality of the plan in light of Japan's infrastructure and electricity supply, as well as the diversification of risk. Attention is focused on how investment in Japan will affect employment and investment in South Korea, and how it will influence Japan-South Korea relations and developments between the United States and China.