SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won (チェ・テウォン) announced that the group is considering investing in a semiconductor plant in Japan. He said it is surveying the entire country and would consider any location with abundant electricity and water.
Chairman Choi Tae-won (チェ・テウォン) disclosed to Hankyoreh that SK Group is considering investing in the construction of a semiconductor plant in Japan. Speaking in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, while attending a meeting of the chairmen of the Japan-Korea Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he said, “We will provide an update on the local investment once our review is complete.”
Bloomberg reported that Chairman Choi said the group was “surveying the entire country,” and that it was considering any location with abundant electricity and water. SK hynix President Kwak Noh-jung (クァク・ノジョン) also expressed his intention to contribute to Japan’s semiconductor industry, in addition to contributing to the AI industry in the United States.
Hankyoreh previously reported that SK hynix was pursuing plans to invest tens of trillions of won in building a memory plant in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture, but announced that nothing had been finalized as of that time. Chairman Choi’s remarks may support the view that the company is in fact pursuing investment in Japan.
If the move goes ahead, SK hynix would become the third foreign company, after the United States and Taiwan, to have a semiconductor manufacturing base in Japan.
The development comes against a backdrop of views that Japan is building out its semiconductor production ecosystem, and officials and other stakeholders in both Japan and South Korea are watching developments closely.