en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, Samsung Electronics has initiated the approval process for the expansion of its advanced packaging plant at the Onyang semiconductor base in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. The new facility will focus on the production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging for AI data centers, with construction scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026 and mass production targeted for May 2029.
The expansion project, now entering the implementation phase, involves an investment of approximately 1.3 trillion Korean won. It will build a large-scale cleanroom of about 9,400 pyeong (approximately 31,000 square meters), along with packaging, inspection, and supporting utility facilities required for HBM back-end manufacturing. Upon completion, the total floor area of the Onyang base will expand from the current approximately 270,000 square meters to 420,000 square meters, adding about 150,000 square meters.
The Onyang base was originally a key semiconductor packaging and testing production node for Samsung Electronics. This expansion will further enhance the base's capacity in HBM stacking, chip interconnection, packaging, and final testing, transforming it from a traditional back-end production site into an advanced packaging center for AI memory. HBM requires vertical stacking of multiple DRAM dies and high-speed interconnection through through-silicon vias (TSVs) and micro-bumps, imposing higher demands on cleanroom environments, packaging precision, and inspection capabilities.
Samsung Electronics is building a next-generation HBM production system across Onyang and Cheonan, with total long-term investment plans amounting to approximately 56 trillion Korean won, of which about 46 trillion Korean won is allocated to the Onyang base. This figure includes subsequent equipment expansion, existing line upgrades, and long-term production capacity development, and is not entirely attributed to this single 1.3 trillion Korean won expansion project.
The city of Asan has initiated a project approval coordination mechanism. After receiving the application for the factory expansion change, it has organized comprehensive reviews involving planning, construction, transportation, and relevant departments in advance, and plans to proceed with factory expansion approval and building permits in parallel. According to the locally announced construction schedule, an average of approximately 3,400 personnel will be deployed on-site daily during the construction period; after the factory becomes operational, it is expected to create approximately 700 new direct jobs.
As the factory approval and preliminary construction processes advance, the project will subsequently move into phases including cleanroom construction, utility system installation, production equipment arrival, and production line commissioning. Once the new Onyang plant is operational, it will integrate with Samsung Electronics' existing memory chip wafer fabrication bases, supplementing the back-end packaging and delivery capacity for HBM products required by AI servers.
