On Jan. 9, construction work is underway at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster general industrial complex in Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s two memory chip giants, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, are facing growing uncertainty over their investment strategies as Washington intensifies pressure on foreign semiconductor makers to expand production in the United States.
The challenge comes at a moment of unusual strength for the industry. Riding a global memory “supercycle,” both companies are pouring tens of trillions of won each year into expanding production lines at home and abroad.
But renewed tariff threats from the Trump administration — including warnings of a 100 percent levy on memory chips not manufactured in the United States — are complicating long-term planning and raising concerns over financial and strategic strain.
According to industry officials, the U.S. government has recently made clear that companies without domestic manufacturing bases could face punitive tariffs, a message widely seen as targeting Samsung and SK hynix.
The pressure has intensified after Taiwan reached a tariff arrangement with Washington tied to a $250 billion U.S. investment pledge by TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor production lines at its Pyeongtaek campus (image provided by Samsung Electronics).
For Korea’s memory leaders, however, expanding U.S. investment beyond what has already been committed is proving difficult.
Samsung’s semiconductor capital spending is estimated at about 34 trillion won in 2025 and roughly 35 trillion won this year, while SK hynix is expected to raise its investment from 27 trillion won last year to about 34 trillion won in 2026.
JPMorgan has recently lifted its forecast for SK hynix’s capital expenditures in 2026–27 to as much as 48 trillion won, reflecting the scale of its ongoing expansion.
In the United States, Samsung has pledged more than $37 billion by 2030 to build advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities, including a cutting-edge foundry plant in Taylor, Texas, scheduled to begin operations later this year. SK hynix, meanwhile, plans to invest $3.87 billion in an advanced packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana.
On Jan. 1, the first day of the new year, a sun halo appears around the first sunrise of 2026, the Year of the Fire Horse (Byeong-o), above the construction site of SK hynix’s Yongin Cluster Phase 1 fab in Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)
At home, both companies are also undertaking massive projects. Samsung is pressing ahead with its 360 trillion won semiconductor mega-cluster in Yongin, which is slated to host six production lines by 2030, while accelerating construction at its P4 and P5 memory lines in Pyeongtaek.
SK hynix is investing around 600 trillion won over the long term in its own Yongin cluster and recently approved a 19 trillion won advanced packaging plant in Cheongju.
Despite this scale, analysts say the idea of shifting U.S. investments toward memory production is unrealistic. Samsung’s Texas facility has already been designed for foundry operations, making conversion impractical, while building memory fabs in the United States would raise questions about workforce availability, operating costs and the lack of a mature local memory ecosystem.
Industry executives also warn that yielding too readily to U.S. demands could undermine Korea’s semiconductor competitiveness and economic security, while exposing companies to policy volatility beyond their control.
“Investment spending is already enormous and set to grow even further,” one industry official said. “Companies are reaching their limits, and this is no longer something they can manage alone. Coordinated trade diplomacy at the government level is becoming essential.”
As geopolitical pressure collides with an unprecedented investment cycle, Korea’s chipmakers find themselves navigating not only the market — but the shifting demands of global industrial policy.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
