Samsung, SK face US pressure after W800tr Honam chip pledge

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have announced plans to invest about 800 trillion won ($515 billion) in semiconductor facilities in the Honam region — and now face a new test: pressure from Washington to direct more of that capital toward the United States. The US government has been pushing foreign companies to expand domestic investment and may look unfavorably on the scale of the two chipmakers' commitment to South Korea's southwestern region.

Industry sources say Samsung and SK Group affiliates have been weighing contingency plans since the Honam investment announcement, as the prospect of additional US pressure to invest on American soil has grown.

Within the semiconductor industry, there is a sense that indirect pressure from Washington to expand US investment has already begun in the wake of the Honam announcement.

Analysts say the US government could intensify that pressure by reviving its earlier threat of 100 percent sector-wide tariffs on semiconductors.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump warned that memory chipmakers that do not build factories in the United States would face 100 percent tariffs — a threat widely seen as targeting Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to compel greater US investment.

The US government has since suspended the proposed semiconductor tariffs, which have yet to take effect, but the industry remains uncertain about when Washington might play the tariff card again.

Analysts say Washington could point to the relatively modest scale of the two companies' US commitments compared with the 800 trillion won Honam pledge and use that disparity to demand expanded American investment.

Samsung Electronics is building its Taylor fab in Texas with a total investment of $37 billion. The first fab is targeting the second half of this year for the start of operation and will house a foundry production facility based on a 2-nanometer advanced process.

SK hynix is spending $3.87 billion to build an advanced packaging production base for AI memory chips in Indiana.

Samsung Electronics is projected to post annual operating profit in the 370 trillion won range this year, while SK hynix is forecast to reach the 270 trillion won range. A significant portion of those earnings is expected to come from US technology giants including Nvidia, Amazon, Google and OpenAI.

Both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are exploring ways to accelerate and flesh out their already-announced US investment plans as a potential response.

Expanding the overall investment scale based on the semiconductor industry's outlook and conditions, if necessary, is another option the companies are considering.

For Samsung Electronics, observers say the company could soon move to formalize plans for a second fab at its Taylor site, which it had previously announced in broad terms.

SK hynix, whose US investment commitments are smaller than Samsung's, faces additional sensitivity given its planned Nasdaq listing on July 10. Analysts say that exposure makes the company more vulnerable to pressure from the Trump administration.

Against that backdrop, attention is turning to whether SK hynix will pursue new US investments beyond its Indiana advanced packaging base — potentially including a memory production fab.

Major semiconductor nations including China, Taiwan and Japan are also closely monitoring the Samsung and SK hynix Honam investment plans and assessing their potential implications.

"Samsung and SK are in a position where they must align with the government's regional balanced-development investment goals while also weathering the headwind of US pressure to invest on American soil," an industry official said. "With the Trump administration expected to push even harder for local investment ahead of the midterm elections, we are watching the situation very carefully."