South Korean manufacturers, including giants Samsung and Hyundai, have announced new domestic investment plans following a U.S. trade deal that sparked concerns their growing commitments in the United States could erode manufacturing at home.
Samsung said it will add a chip production line at its plant in the South Korean city of Pyeongtaek to meet rising demand amid the global boom in artificial intelligence, as part of the parent group’s 450 trillion won ($310.79 billion) investments at home over the next five years.
The announcement came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a meeting on Sunday with the country’s business leaders, after a U.S. trade deal including a South Korean promise to invest $350 billion in U.S. strategic sectors was finalized on Friday.
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“There are concerns that domestic investment might shrink as U.S.-bound investments strengthen,” Lee said at the meeting, as he asked companies to consider domestic investments more.
The president also asked companies to consult with the government to make good use of the $350 billion investment package for their overseas investments.
“Samsung will raise domestic investment, create quality jobs for young people and make even more efforts for a win-win with small and medium-sized, as well as venture companies,” Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee said.
A Samsung spokesperson said the new Samsung factory, which will make memory chips, will cater to demand for traditional and AI servers. Semiconductor prices are surging, as the global rush by chipmakers to produce AI chips tightens supply of those needed for smartphones, computers and servers. The company also raised prices of certain memory chips by as much as 60% compared to September, according to Reuters.
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Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group announced domestic investments worth 125.2 trillion won (approximately $85.7 billion) from 2026 to 2030, while shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai also unveiled investment plans.
Samsung’s SDI recently struck a deal with Tesla to supply more than three trillion won ($2.11 billion) worth of ESS (Energy Storage System) batteries to the EV maker. This would be one of Samsung SDI’s largest ESS contracts to date, and would position the firm as a primary global battery supplier along with LG Energy Solution and CATL. Another recent deal involving Samsung is with Nvidia. The company said it is in “close discussion” to supply its next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, or HBM4.
Meanwhile, Hyundai recently announced that it will proceed with its planned expansion of its Georgia manufacturing facility. The company said it will invest $2.7 billion to boost production at the Ellabell, Georgia, facility by 200,000 vehicles over the next three years, raising the plant’s total annual capacity to 500,000 vehicles.