Samsung Breaks Ground on Onyang HBM Packaging Hub as Korea's President Cites 40 Trillion Won Equipment Follow-On

Samsung Electronics broke ground on Nov 12 on a high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging facility at its Onyang campus in Asan, South Chungcheong, with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung attending. Samsung's top executive vowed to turn a site long focused on conventional chip assembly and testing into an HBM hub; The Korea Times identifies the speaker as Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

The headline figures conflict, but they are not rival plans. According to Reuters, Lee Jae Myung said Samsung's 6 trillion won ($4.48 billion) investment in the Asan HBM packaging plant would be followed by about 40 trillion won in advanced equipment, which Reuters' headline rounds to $30 billion of additional investment. The Korea Times puts the Onyang total at 46 trillion won: 6 trillion won for construction and 40 trillion won for equipment installed in stages. The Seeking Alpha headline cites $34 billion; we could not read that article, but at the exchange rate Reuters used (1,339.55 won per dollar) 46 trillion won is about $34 billion, so it likely refers to the full total. A Chosunbiz headline separately cites 56 trillion won, a figure we could not read or reconcile.

Both numbers are Samsung's own spending, not a government stimulus. The government's role, per The Korea Times, was a pledge of faster permits and infrastructure such as power and water. The investment itself is not new: Electronics For You notes the plans were first announced in July, so Nov 12 marks the start of construction.

Samsung targets operations in June 2028 and, per The Korea Times, says customers asked for more HBM than it could supply for 2027 and it expects shortages to persist through 2028. Readers may watch construction progress, the staged equipment installation (Reuters gave no timing for the 40 trillion won), and whether Samsung wins customers from rival SK hynix.