SK Materials, headquartered in Yeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, is investing 200 billion won to expand its semiconductor and display materials manufacturing plant.

Yeongju City announced on the 4th that as a result of pursuing administrative procedures such as consultations with related administrative agencies and departments until July following the signing of an MOU with SK Materials in January, the development plan for the Yeongju Gaheung General Industrial Complex for the additional expansion of the SK Materials plant received final approval from the Gyeongsangbuk-do Local Industrial Complex Planning Review Committee on August 31.

SK Materials has been preparing to expand its factory by approximately KRW 200 billion by going through internal procedures such as selecting a construction company.

According to SK Materials' recent factory expansion plan, the site in Yeongju-si, where its headquarters is located, will be expanded by 19,701㎡ (approximately 6,000 pyeong), and the number of employees will increase from approximately 1,000 to approximately 1,200.

When the factory expansion is completed by June next year, it is expected to create new jobs and revitalize the economy in the Yeongju area, and the Gaheung General Industrial Complex will serve as a semiconductor and display materials hub, responding to the surge in demand from the rapidly growing related industries and accelerating the domestic production of advanced materials.

SK Materials plans to continue investing in Yeongju City with large-scale investments planned for the second half of this year, following this plant expansion. In response, the city is proposing to SK Materials the formation of a working-level consultative body and is preparing to establish a mutual communication system to ensure smooth investment.

Yeongju Mayor Jang Wook-hyun said, “We will spare no support so that SK Materials, a local company with great growth potential, can continue to invest in our region,” and “I am confident that the partnership between Yeongju City and SK Materials, which is expected to leap forward as the global leader in the advanced materials industry by acquiring global management capabilities and financial procurement capabilities through the merger with SK Corporation, will continue,” expressing his determination for the mutual growth of the company and the region.

Meanwhile, SK Materials is a specialized company in special gases (NF3, SiH4, WF6) and is securing technological competitiveness in semiconductor precursors, semiconductor etching gases, photoresists, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), etc., and is active as a global company in advanced core materials.

In line with the outlook that the forward markets of the main business groups will show high growth, the company is actively building new growth bases in batteries, next-generation displays, and eco-friendly materials in addition to the existing semiconductor sector, and recently signed an MOU with Gyeongsangbuk-do and Sangju-si to establish a silicon anode material and raw material production plant worth a total of KRW 850 billion. The strategy is to enter the next-generation battery market based on silicon-based anode materials and then expand into high-performance anode and cathode materials.

In addition, we are working to internalize core technologies to respond to ESG risks and take the lead in the eco-friendly materials market, and are continuously pursuing expansion of collaboration by securing core material source technologies through collaboration with global technology companies.