Samsung affiliates plan to invest a combined USD 9.15 billion in chip operations in Vietnam while expanding high-end production capacity in South Korea, under plans that could reshape how the company divides memory and substrate work between its two manufacturing bases.

Memory Testing Hub in Thai Nguyen

Samsung Electronics plans to invest USD 4.09 billion in memory chip testing facilities at Yen Binh Industrial Park in Thai Nguyen, northern Vietnam, according to an investment plan submitted to local authorities. The first production line is scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2027, with another planned for 2028.

The facilities will conduct final testing of DRAM and NAND flash chips packaged at Samsung's Cheonan plant in Korea. They will not manufacture wafers, meaning the investment expands overseas testing capacity rather than relocating chip fabrication.

The move could leave more capacity at Samsung's Korean sites for advanced memory products. Joo Seung-hwan, a professor at Inha University's Graduate School of Manufacturing Innovation, said the plan appeared aimed at keeping high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory in Cheonan and Onyang while shifting more conventional memory work to Vietnam. Samsung has not disclosed how testing volumes will be divided.

The project also draws heavily on locally generated earnings. Some USD 2.57 billion, or about 63 percent of the investment, is to be financed through reinvested profits from Samsung's Vietnamese operations, making that portion dependent on future earnings.

Flip-Chip Substrate Split Between Sejong and Vietnam

The production split is more explicit at Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which announced plans to invest USD 5.09 billion in flip-chip ball grid array substrate capacity. Of that, USD 3.21 billion will go to Sejong, and 1.88 billion to Vietnam.

The substrates connect high-performance processors to circuit boards and are in growing demand as AI servers require larger, more complex chip packages.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to begin mass production at its expanded Sejong facility in September 2028, while its Vietnamese expansion targets completion and operation by June 2030. Sejong will focus on high-value, technically demanding products, while Vietnam will handle growing global orders. The distinction is not absolute, however, as the company already produces advanced substrates in Vietnam.

The expansion is backed by funding support and medium- to long-term purchase commitments from global customers, helping reduce upfront investment risks and secure demand for the additional capacity.

Building on an Established Vietnamese base

Vietnam offers an established manufacturing base for the Korean company. Samsung Electronics has produced smartphones in Thai Nguyen since 2013 and has brought 103 Vietnamese engineers to its Cheonan and Onyang facilities for training in memory testing and equipment operation, according to industry sources.

Spreading production across borders could give Samsung greater flexibility if disruptions affect its Korean operations, though shipping packaged chips to Vietnam for testing adds logistics costs and requires closer coordination between sites.

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