SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won forecasted that the shortage of memory supply, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), driven by surging demand due to the spread of artificial intelligence (AI), will persist until 2030. In response, he also announced plans to double SK Hynix’s wafer production capacity within the next five years.
Chairman Chey, at a global media briefing held at Taipei COMPUTEX 2026 in Taiwan on the 2nd, said, “We still maintain the existing outlook that the memory shortage will persist until 2030,” and added, “Memory demand will continue to grow due to the spread of AI data centers, AI factories, and AI PCs.”
He explained, “The bottleneck in the AI industry is not just a problem of GPUs or memory,” and added, “All elements such as power, water, equipment, and sites could become insufficient together.”
He also revealed plans to expand production capacity. Chairman Chey said, “We plan to double the overall wafer production capacity within the next five years,” and added, “Although there will be many obstacles, we will continue to execute the necessary investments.”
However, he stressed that expanding supply will require significant time. He said, “Constructing a new fab takes at least three years, and if starting from a completely new site, it takes more than five years,” and added, “Expanding memory production is by no means an easy task.”
Regarding the recently strengthened collaboration system between NVIDIA, TSMC, and SK Hynix, he said, “It is important to provide what customers want,” and evaluated, “We are maintaining the highest level of partnership with TSMC in history.”
In response to a question comparing the pros and cons of the TSMC collaboration model with Samsung Electronics’ method of integrating memory and foundry businesses, he answered, “We are simply providing the method that customers want,” and added, “I don’t think it’s a matter of comparing pros and cons.”
Regarding SK Hynix’s role in the supply chain for NVIDIA’s next-generation AI platform ‘Vera Rubin,’ he said, “We hope to continue maintaining our position as a major supplier,” and added, “However, this is ultimately a decision for the customer to make.”
Chairman Chey presented the construction of an ‘AI factory’ as a future goal. He said, “Currently, we are supplying memory for AI, but in the future, we want to create an AI factory that produces more intelligence,” and added, “To this end, we will expand cooperation with partners around the world, including Taiwan.”
He also explained the purpose of his visit to Taiwan, saying, “I am meeting numerous partners, including TSMC, Foxconn, and Acer,” and added, “As the AI business expands, more partnerships are needed.”
In response to a question about what Korean companies can learn from Taiwan, he emphasized, “Taiwan is capturing the AI momentum very well,” and added, “Korea should also actively embrace the AI era and consider how to respond more quickly.”
Originally written by: Choi Hyo-jung
Image credit: –
Source: The Chosun Daily
Published on: 2 June 2026
Link to original article: SK Hynix to Double Production Amid Shortage Until 2030
