Samsung Electronics has significantly accelerated the expansion of its Pyeongtaek semiconductor manufacturing complex in South Korea, driven by a global surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other advanced memory chips essential for artificial intelligence applications. The Pyeongtaek campus, which already operates three fabs around the clock, is bringing a fourth online, while construction has resumed on a fifth factory and a sixth is now planned. This renewed investment follows a period in 2024 when some expansion plans were delayed due to a downturn in the semiconductor market.
The decision to fast-track the Pyeongtaek buildout underscores Samsung's strategy to regain market share in the AI memory sector, where rival SK Hynix has gained an early lead in HBM production. Powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) that power generative AI models rely on stacks of specialized memory chips, with HBM being a critical component for AI accelerators. Samsung projects that memory-chip demand will continue to increase through 2028, forming the basis for this accelerated expansion.
The Pyeongtaek complex is substantial, covering an area comparable to New York City's Central Park. The site is a key manufacturing hub for Samsung's advanced semiconductor technologies, including DRAM, V-NAND, and foundry solutions. Samsung has committed a total of 450 trillion Korean won (approximately $310 billion) in South Korea over the next five years, with a significant portion allocated to semiconductor manufacturing and related infrastructure.
Construction on the P4 facility, which had been largely suspended for over a year, resumed in July 2025, with Samsung reorienting its production toward next-generation needs. The company expanded its contract value for Phase 4 of the P4 facility to 4.2 trillion won ($3 billion), a 50 percent increase from earlier disclosures, and advanced its completion date to April 2027. Phases 2 and 4 of the P4 facility, initially planned as foundry lines, are now expected to prioritize HBM4 production to meet AI demand. Samsung aims to bring its P4 fab into full operation by the end of 2026.
Furthermore, Samsung is accelerating the operational start of its P4 fab by up to six months and plans to construct the P5 fab as a structurally identical "Twin Fab" to expedite the mass supply system for next-generation HBM4. The P5 facility, which had its construction plans postponed in 2024, is now scheduled to begin full operation in 2028. Reports indicate that Samsung is also moving up the construction schedule for a sixth fab in Pyeongtaek, known as P6 or P5-2, with groundbreaking anticipated in July, six months ahead of its original early 2027 schedule. P5 and P6 are expected to form a multifab complex producing HBM, DRAM, NAND flash, and foundry lines.
Samsung is also exploring building P5 Plants 1 and 2 as "triple fabs" with three layers, rather than the previous double-fab structure, to maximize production capacity. This would increase clean room capacity by 1.5 times, leading to a proportional increase in production capacity. This change in the industrial complex plan requires review by the Gyeonggi Province Governor and approval by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.