사진 확대
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said he is also considering building a new semiconductor plant in Japan, suggesting “joint production” with Japanese semiconductor company Kioxia Holdings as one of the cooperation measures.
According to an Asahi Shimbun report on the 2nd, Chairman Choi said in an interview held in Tokyo the previous day, “If SK Hynix is included in Kioxia’s future strategy, we intend to become a partner at any time.” This means that practical business solidarity is possible beyond indirect investment relationships. Although SK Hynix is in competition with Kioxia in the NAND flash field, it has indirectly invested in Kioxia through a special purpose corporation (SPC).
Chairman Choi praised Kioxia’s strengths and left open the possibility of cooperation from various angles, including not only production but also R&D and supply chain sharing. Chairman Choi also mentioned the possibility of the two companies building a factory together, citing the case that Kioxia is co-producing its flagship products through a joint venture with SanDisk in the U.S.
Asked if he could produce in Japan with Kioxia, Chairman Choi said, “Please consider it an option,” and explained, “If Kioxia continues to have ideas for cooperation, we are fully prepared to discuss it.”
However, Chairman Choi hinted that he will not remain an investor, saying, “If we can no longer establish any cooperative relationship, we will end our investment in Kioxia.”
Chairman Choi diagnosed that there is a 20-30% shortage of memory semiconductors for data centers, and explained that it is difficult to cover this with large-scale investments in Korea alone.
In particular, Japan was positively evaluated as a candidate for a new factory. Chairman Choi stressed that Japan has an excellent supply chain for semiconductor equipment and materials and a high cultural affinity that values manufacturing, adding, “It is a very attractive candidate in terms of risk and culture.” The plan is to preemptively respond to global supply chain instability by using Japan, which has a small geopolitical risk and a solid ecosystem of small managers (materials, parts, and equipment), as its core base. It added that it has already received offers from multiple local governments in Japan and can reveal specific investment plans within this year.
According to Counterpoint Research, a market research firm, Samsung Electronics (25%) ranks first in global NAND flash shipments as of the second quarter of 2026. Industry sources say that if SK Hynix (22 percent), which has the second-largest market share, and Kioxia (14 percent), which has the third-largest market share, join hands, a huge coalition beyond Samsung Electronics could be created.
[Tokyo correspondent Lee Yoo Seob]