00:02You're listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:06The chairman of Korea's largest business lobby just said the quiet part out loud.
00:11Next year's chip shortage will be chaos.
00:15Che Taewon isn't exaggerating for effect.
00:18The demand supply gap is about to hit a level his own words call abnormal.
00:23And it forces a board-level decision on where you build next.
00:28It's Monday, July 20th.
00:30Let's look at a business story shaping corporate Korea.
00:34SK Group chairman Che Taewon said 2026 chip demand will rise at least 50%,
00:40with almost no new supply coming online.
00:43He called rapid capacity expansion the lifeline of Korea's semiconductor industry.
00:49He also addressed direct pressure from the U.S. Commerce Secretary
00:53to build production facilities on American soil.
00:57Here's what the numbers show.
00:59Che said AI-driven chip demand alone could grow 60% to 100% next year,
01:05while total semiconductor demand rises at least 50% to 60%,
01:10against supply growth of nearly zero.
01:14SK Group is investing 400 trillion won in a new southwestern Korea chip cluster
01:20and moving up its Yongin cluster completion by 12 years, from 2045.
01:26Major forecasters expect combined capital expenditure from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix
01:32to jump from 75 trillion won last year to 120 trillion won this year and 150 trillion won next year.
01:42Che brushed off U.S. pressure to relocate production,
01:45noting Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has always taken the same position since early in the Trump administration.
01:53He confirmed SK is evaluating U.S. sites alongside Korean ones,
01:58prioritizing wherever power, water, land, and talent are ready fastest.
02:03Separately, SK Hynix and Samsung are both racing to commercialize CXL memory,
02:09a new memory tier projected to grow from $2.1 billion this year to $15.8 billion by 2028.
02:18So, what does this mean for executives managing chip-exposed operations?
02:23Earlier, we said the 2026 gap could hit chaos levels.
02:28Here's what that actually means for you.
02:30Expect continued pricing power for Korean memory suppliers well into next year,
02:35but also continued pressure from governments,
02:38including possible new U.S. relocation demands,
02:41on where that capacity gets built.
02:44Boards with Korea-dependent supply chains should model both a tighter allocation environment
02:49and rising geopolitical pressure on where investment lands.
02:54Watch CapEx guidance from Samsung and SK Hynix this earnings season
02:58for the clearest read on how fast new supply actually arrives.
03:03That's today's AI Prism.
03:05CEO.
03:06This episode was produced with AI assistance based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting
03:11and reviewed by a human editor.
03:14AI Prism is a Juan Ifra Award-winning series.
03:18We'll be back tomorrow.
03:19You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
