Samsung to Break Ground on 1.3 Trillion Won HBM Packaging Fab

Samsung Electronics will invest approximately 1.3 trillion won in a dedicated HBM advanced packaging fab at its Onyang site in Asan City, South Chungcheong Province, with mass production targeted for May 2029. Chairman Lee Jae-yong will lead the groundbreaking ceremony next week, according to industry sources on Thursday.

The new facility will add a 31,000-square-meter cleanroom — roughly 9,400 pyeong — to the existing Onyang campus. Once complete, the site's total floor area will grow from 270,000 square meters to 420,000 square meters, an increase of over 55 percent.

Who attends the groundbreaking?

Lee will appear alongside key executives from Samsung's major affiliates. The list includes:

• Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics and head of the Device Solutions (DS) Division
• Jang Deok-hyun, President of Samsung Electro-Mechanics
• Lee Cheong, President of Samsung Display
• Choi Ju-sun, President of Samsung SDI

The chairman's direct involvement signals a speed-up campaign for the company's semiconductor investment, aimed at countering the AI bubble theory raised in some quarters.

What changes at Onyang?

The site began operations in 1991 as a semiconductor assembly and inspection line and has since served as a major back-end process hub for Samsung Electronics. The expansion is expected to accelerate its shift from a back-end hub centered on general-purpose semiconductors to a core center for advanced HBM packaging.

The project carries weight beyond Samsung. It is the first to break ground nationwide among the government's "Three Major Mega-Projects for Korea's Great Leap." Groundbreaking moves the plan to restructure the Chungcheong region as an HBM advanced packaging hub into full execution.

In June, speaking at a report to the public, Lee said: "We will concentrate investments in the Chungcheong region, including Cheonan and Onyang, for HBM fabs alongside existing semiconductor back-end process fabs."

How large is the long-term plan?

The 1.3 trillion won fab is only the first stage. Samsung Electronics plans to invest a total of 46 trillion won at the Onyang site over the medium to long term, building five HBM fab lines.

That figure is roughly 35 times the cost of the initial fab announced for next week's ceremony, and it anchors the government's ambition to position the Chungcheong region at the center of Korea's advanced packaging capacity.

The groundbreaking date falls next week, with executives confirmed to attend. In plain terms: Samsung's chairman is putting his name on the first of five HBM lines, and the clock now runs toward May 2029.