en.Wedoany.com Reported - U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directly called out Samsung Electronics and SK hynix at a Micron semiconductor facility event, demanding they expand their investments in memory semiconductor production facilities in the United States. This signal indicates that the U.S. government is intensifying pressure to attract global semiconductor companies' production bases to the country.

Lutnick attended the concrete pouring ceremony for Micron's semiconductor facility in Clay, New York, where he mentioned the investment status of these two Korean companies in the U.S. He stated that he is discussing plans with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to invest in production facilities in the U.S., but did not disclose specific details of the negotiations. Lutnick said, "We also want to bring competitors Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to the U.S. to build production facilities." He also claimed that Micron is leading the way in U.S. investment, and competitors will follow suit, reiterating the Trump administration's policy direction of protecting U.S. companies and intellectual property investments.

Lutnick's remarks are interpreted as a demand for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to go beyond their existing U.S. investments and build memory production facilities in the country. Currently, Samsung Electronics is building a foundry in Taylor, Texas; SK hynix plans to construct an artificial intelligence (AI) memory advanced packaging production base and R&D facility in Indiana. However, neither company's U.S. investments include front-end wafer fabs for producing DRAM and NAND.

The U.S. government is pursuing policies to expand investments in domestic production facilities to reduce the semiconductor supply chain's dependence on overseas sources. This approach involves offering subsidies and tax incentives while hinting at the possibility of imposing tariffs, thereby pressuring global semiconductor companies to produce locally.

Micron announced on the same day that it will invest over $250 billion (approximately 375 trillion won) in U.S. domestic semiconductor production facilities and technology by 2035, an increase of $50 billion from its previous plan of $200 billion. The investments include building a new wafer fab in New York, as well as expanding and modernizing production facilities in Idaho and Virginia. Micron also advanced the first concrete pouring for the New York wafer fab by more than a quarter compared to the original schedule. The company aims to produce 40% of its DRAM output in the U.S., and the investment process is expected to create over 90,000 jobs nationwide.

Micron will also make separate investments to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor supply chain ecosystem, planning to provide up to $3 billion in support for material and component partners. Of this, $500 million will be used to support Taiwan's GlobalWafers in expanding its silicon wafer production facility in Texas, along with a long-term supply contract. Micron's expanded investment is interpreted as an effort to secure U.S. domestic production bases ahead of competitors, enhance production capacity and supply chain competitiveness, and respond to the global memory market dominated by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, amid growing demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) driven by the proliferation of AI infrastructure.