Samsung Electronics said Sunday it will invest 450 trillion won ($309.2 billion) in the next five years to build new manufacturing plants in South Korea for its key affiliates.
The announcement came after Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung along with chiefs of other conglomerates to discuss the recent tariff agreement with the US and their companies' domestic investment.
Samsung said part of the 450 trillion won investment will be spent on facility construction as well as hiring and other corporate social responsibility activities.
"With the opening of the AI era, we expect global demand for memory chips will increase in the medium to long term, and plan to secure production lines in advance," Samsung said.
The company said its management committee recently agreed to begin structural work on a fifth manufacturing plant at the Pyeongtaek Campus. The company plans to start operations at the new fab, known as P5, from 2028. To ensure stability in its production infrastructure, the company said it will also spend on essential support facilities.
Noting its efforts toward Korea's balanced regional development, the conglomerate also underscored Samsung SDS' plan to build a large-scale AI data center in South Jeolla Province, as well as its plan to construct another AI data center at its Gumi plant in North Gyeongsang Province, set for completion in 2028.
The company also said it will build a manufacturing plant in Gwangju for FlaktGroup, Europe’s largest heating, ventilation and air conditioning company, which Samsung acquired in November.
Samsung SDI, the conglomerate's battery affiliate, is also reviewing Ulsan as the site to build its new fabrication plant for next-generation products, including all-solid-state batteries, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics is investing in Busan to reinforce its FC-BGA fab in the city, the company added.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong reiterated his promise to ramp up youth hiring and domestic investment during the meeting with the president on Sunday.
"Even though the conditions are tough and the economy is far from easy, we will hire 60,000 people in Korea over the next five years. We will also step up domestic facility investments, including R&D," he said.
herim@heraldcorp.com
