A visit to Samsung’s massive new semiconductor hub

Samsung is building a large semiconductor manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, where three fabs already run around the clock and a fourth is coming online; construction of a fifth was halted during a 2024 drop in memory chip demand but restarted when the AI boom sent demand soaring. The site covers an area about the size of New York City's Central Park, and safety officer Choi Hye-rin, 35, who earns 140,000 won ($97) a day, says the rate is higher than at other construction sites and the work is relatively easy. Samsung predicts memory chip demand will keep surging through 2028, and the build-out is its attempt to reclaim its lead after watching domestic rival SK Hynix pull ahead in high-bandwidth memory for Nvidia's AI accelerators.