SK Hynix has publicly urged the South Korean government to relax investment regulations for advanced industries, arguing that institutional flexibility is critical to securing the country’s “technology sovereignty” in the artificial intelligence era. In a statement released on December 24, the chipmaker highlighted that the capital requirements for semiconductor facilities have skyrocketed—citing the Yongin semiconductor cluster’s projected cost jumping from 120 trillion won in 2019 to 600 trillion won—making current faunding restrictions unsustainable.
The company is specifically advocating for a revision to the holding company structure that currently mandates a “grandchild” company (like SK Hynix within the SK Group) must own 100% of any “great-grandchild” subsidiary. SK Hynix supports lowering this threshold to 50%, which would allow it to establish Special Purpose Companies (SPCs) with external investors. This structure would enable the company to share the massive financial burden of building new fabs while maintaining stability.
Addressing concerns that this might be viewed as a corporate favor, SK Hynix pointed to global precedents, such as Intel’s joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management in Arizona, as evidence that project-based joint financing is a standard industry practice.
