South Korea’s Samsung Electronics plans to begin operations at its first semiconductor fabrication plant in Yongin, south of Seoul, in 2029, bringing the timeline forward from the previous 2030–2031 target.

Reuters reported on Monday that the accelerated schedule is intended to help meet rising demand for memory chips used in AI infrastructure.

Earlier this month, Samsung forecast second-quarter operating profit of 89.4 trillion won (US$58.4 billion), up from 57.2 trillion won in the previous quarter and 4.68 trillion won a year earlier.

Revenue was estimated at 171 trillion won, compared with 133.87 trillion won in the first quarter and 74.57 trillion won in the same period last year.

Samsung’s semiconductor operations span memory chips, contract manufacturing and chip design. Its Device Solutions division generated 81.7 trillion won in revenue and 53.7 trillion won in operating profit in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for most of the group’s earnings.

The division’s performance was led by memory, where Samsung is one of the world’s largest suppliers of DRAM, NAND and high-bandwidth memory used in AI systems.

Samsung is also the world’s second-largest semiconductor foundry by revenue, although it remains well behind TSMC. TrendForce estimated Samsung’s market share at 6.5% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 72.3% for TSMC.

The Yongin development will expand Samsung’s domestic production base as it competes across memory and contract chip manufacturing.

Samsung Group previously unveiled plans to invest 140 trillion won (US$90 billion) in Chungcheong province across displays, batteries, semiconductors, and chip materials.

In March, Samsung Electronics filed a Corporate Value Enhancement Plan with the Korea Exchange, outlining plans to invest more than 110 trillion won (US$73 billion) in facilities and research and development in 2026.

South Korea has been stepping up investment in AI infrastructure, led by large semiconductor commitments from its major conglomerates. 

SK Group has outlined a long-term domestic investment plan of about 2,100 trillion won (US$1.36 trillion) across semiconductors, AI data centres and related infrastructure.

Its chipmaking arm, SK hynix, raised US$26.5 billion through a Nasdaq listing of American depositary shares in July, rather than a conventional IPO of the already-listed company.

Seoul has also proposed a record 2027 budget of more than 800 trillion won (US$531 billion), with semiconductors, AI data centres and physical AI among its priority areas.