# Samsung begins $104B regional push with Onyang packaging fab *The chipmaker allocated 46 trillion won for its Line 5 facility to expand high-bandwidth memory packaging capacity outside the capital power grid.* **Published:** November 13, 2026 **By:** Ji-woo Han **Section:** Semiconductors & AI Hardware — South Korea **Format:** Breaking **Confidence:** high **Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/semiconductors/samsung-begins-104b-regional-push-onyang-packaging-fab-1399 **Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/) --- ## What to know - Samsung begins 144 trillion won Chungcheong deployment with a 46 trillion won packaging fab in Onyang - Line 5 startup pulled forward by one year to June 2028 to relieve HBM packaging bottlenecks - A cohort of 194 suppliers commits 18.1 trillion won in linked provincial investments through 2030 ![Excavators move earth and work on foundations beside a steel building frame at a new facility construction site in central South Korea. (AI-generated image)](https://eastasiabrief.com/media/2026-11-13-1d4b5d91fcf3.webp) *Excavators move earth and work on foundations beside a steel building frame at a new facility construction site in central South Korea. (AI-generated image)* Samsung Electronics began deploying 144 trillion won ($104 billion) across central South Korea on Nov. 13, 2026, breaking ground on a dedicated high-bandwidth memory packaging facility in Onyang. The capital program covers four Samsung affiliates across South Chungcheong Province and Sejong City. The expenditure represents an increase of four trillion won over the preliminary regional blueprint announced in July. Samsung Electronics is directing 60 trillion won to semiconductor operations under the package. That sum includes 46 trillion won for the Onyang campus, with six trillion won allocated for fab structures and 40 trillion won for cleanroom machinery. The new Line 5 facility in Onyang will house 31,000 square meters of cleanroom floor area. The fab will stack and bond advanced high-bandwidth memory chips, known as HBM, used in artificial intelligence accelerators. Samsung Electronics brought the operational target for Line 5 forward by one year to June 2028. The acceleration aims to relieve backend processing bottlenecks as domestic DRAM fabrication expands faster than packaging capacity. South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy established a dedicated regional support team to speed municipal permits. Transmission grid congestion around the capital region prompted policymakers to steer major power-consuming backend facilities south. Samsung Display committed 67 trillion won to build its A7 organic light-emitting diode line in Asan. The display maker broke ground in Oct. and scheduled mass production of next-generation panels for the second half of 2029. Samsung Electro-Mechanics is spending eight trillion won to expand production of high-end semiconductor package substrates in Sejong. Work on the Sejong substrate facility began in Oct., targeting commercial manufacturing runs in Sept. 2028. Samsung SDI allocated nine trillion won to its Cheonan campus for battery manufacturing systems. The site will operate as a mother facility to pilot solid-state and cylindrical battery manufacturing techniques before offshore deployment. The group-wide buildout anchors a broader supplier network across central South Korea. A cohort of 194 materials, parts and equipment companies committed 18.1 trillion won in capital spending through 2030 to support the regional clusters. Within that supplier group, 66 companies based in the Chungcheong region will invest 4.4 trillion won. The localized commitments will expand chemical slurry output, carrier substrates and automated wafer handlers within trucking distance of Onyang. Advanced packaging has emerged as the primary technical hurdle in supplying fifth- and sixth-generation AI memory. Modern accelerators require DRAM stacks bonded directly onto logic dies using microbumps or copper-to-copper direct connections. Building advanced packaging lines in Asan allows Samsung to bypass power rationing in Gyeonggi Province. Industrial substations around Pyeongtaek and Yongin face transmission delays that complicate additional electricity delivery before 2030, ministry records show. Chungcheong offers existing high-voltage transmission lines linked to coastal generating stations. The Asan corridor also connects to domestic chemical suppliers along the western highway corridor, shortening delivery windows for high-purity thermal adhesives and mold compounds. Samsung DS Division Head Jun Young-hyun delivered the capital expenditure plan during an onsite briefing in Asan. The investment will convert Onyang into an integrated advanced packaging node capable of processing high-layer DRAM dies, Jun said. The central government pledged 1.9 trillion won for regional utility pipelines and roads. The Ministry of Economy and Finance also authorized a two trillion won joint fund to finance automation upgrades among secondary component vendors. SK hynix is maintaining a parallel packaging expansion in Cheongju, located 45 kilometers east of Asan. The dual investments concentrate more than 140 trillion won of backend semiconductor spending in North and South Chungcheong provinces. The packaging drive shifts component sourcing patterns away from overseas contract assemblers. Domestic test handlers and laser sawing tools will capture a larger share of tool procurement as Line 5 tools arrive, according to company projections. Substrate availability remains closely tied to the Sejong expansion by Samsung Electro-Mechanics. High-density multichip packages require large-area flip-chip ball grid array substrates, a component subject to extended lead times during AI server production spikes. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has not published the itemized utility subsidy breakdown for individual packaging cleanrooms. Samsung Electronics has not filed a standalone board resolution on the group-wide outlay with financial regulators. Line 5 in Onyang enters equipment move-in during late 2027 ahead of its June 2028 operational target. Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to begin volume output of AI substrates in Sejong in Sept. 2028. ## Impact map | Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Onyang Line 5 packaging fab ground-breaking | Samsung Electronics and 194 suppliers deploy 162.1 trillion won across Chungcheong to bypass Seoul grid limits | Domestic memory makers face wider advanced packaging gap as Samsung pulls forward HBM capacity to June 2028 | Tokyo Electron and packaging materials vendors secure equipment orders for 31,000 m2 cleanroom | AI accelerator backend supply bottlenecks ease as captive HBM stacking capacity expands in central Korea | ## In this story - **Companies:** Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDI - **Tickers:** 005930.KS, 009150.KS, 006400.KS - **Exposed:** SK hynix - **Policy:** Subsidies - **Impact:** Capex, Supply Chain ## Primary sources 1. motie.go.kr 2. thelec.kr 3. korea.kr 4. sedaily.com 5. ntoday.co.kr --- Cite as: East Asia Brief, "Samsung begins $104B regional push with Onyang packaging fab," November 13, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/semiconductors/samsung-begins-104b-regional-push-onyang-packaging-fab-1399