en.Wedoany.com Reported - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong had dinner with President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on the 25th to discuss local investment plans in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. The Korean government is set to announce a semiconductor cluster construction and regional balanced development plan on the 29th, with industry insiders predicting that Samsung's investment blueprint has entered its final coordination stage.

Key points of industry focus may include the construction of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) packaging facilities in Cheonan and plans to expand back-end process investments at the Asan Onyang plant. Two days before the meeting (on the 23rd), Lee Jae-yong inspected the HBM production site at the Cheonan plant, further intensifying attention on investment plans in South Chungcheong Province. Samsung explained that the visit was aimed at addressing the rising demand for HBM driven by global AI market growth, checking production competitiveness and supply systems. It is reported that Lee Jae-yong received briefings from management on factory operations, production plans, and technology R&D progress.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of the Korean government formulating plans to foster advanced industries outside the capital region based on the "Five Poles, Three Special Zones" national balanced development strategy. The business community is focusing on the possibility that the government may announce a large-scale investment plan centered on the Honam and Chungcheong regions, involving semiconductor production facilities, AI data centers, and renewable energy infrastructure. For the Chungcheong region, where Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix already operate production bases, there are observations that the plan may include expansions of existing facilities and increased back-end process investments.

In 2024, Samsung Electronics signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with South Chungcheong Province to build HBM packaging facilities on the Samsung Display site in Cheonan's Third General Industrial Complex. The C1 and C2 production lines inspected by Lee Jae-yong are semiconductor production facilities converted from the original L3 and L4 liquid crystal display (LCD) production lines, serving as bases for HBM packaging and advanced packaging. The Asan Onyang plant, located approximately 10 kilometers in a straight line from the Cheonan plant, is also emerging as part of the cluster. It is reported that Samsung Electronics is studying plans to build a new back-end process-dedicated wafer fab within the Onyang plant.

The Onyang plant was previously known as a testing center. If new investments materialize, its role will expand to become a core base for HBM back-end processes performing advanced packaging functions. The new facilities may include wafer probe (WP) processes and packaging (PKG) production lines. Since HBM stacking technology and packaging precision determine product competitiveness, securing back-end process capabilities is becoming a key variable in supply competitiveness. If Cheonan's advanced packaging capabilities are combined with Onyang's testing and back-end functions, it would effectively form Samsung's HBM back-end cluster in South Chungcheong Province. Lee Jae-yong may also visit Cheonan or Asan on the 2nd of next month to personally announce the investment plan.

An industry insider stated, "The local investment plan being prepared by the government includes not only new investments but also major projects currently underway," adding, "Samsung's Cheonan HBM packaging facility construction and the expansion of back-end process investments at the Asan Onyang plant are among the main topics of discussion."

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