Samsung Converts Hwaseong NAND Line to DRAM, Conventional DRAM Capacity to Rise ~15% by Year-End
Alina Collins
Samsung Electronics is converting an old NAND flash line at its Hwaseong campus into a DRAM back-end facility, targeting a roughly 15% increase in commodity DRAM capacity by end-2026 — an efficiency play built on existing infrastructure, not new fabs.
Which line is being converted?
Line 12 at Hwaseong Campus 1, previously used for 2D NAND production. Conversion began in H2 2025 and was completed in July 2026.
The retooled line will handle back-end metal-wiring steps for Line 15, which currently mass-produces advanced DRAM on 1b and 1c process nodes.
This means → Samsung is not building a new fab. It is repurposing an outdated NAND line and grafting it onto its most advanced DRAM production chain.
Why consolidate front-end and back-end in one campus?
Previously, wafers finished front-end processing at Hwaseong, then were shipped to a separate back-end plant in Cheonan — adding logistics steps and lengthening cycle times.
After the consolidation, DRAM front-end and back-end sit in the same Hwaseong campus, cutting transport and shortening turnaround.
In plain terms = instead of "build half the chip, box it up, truck it to another city, finish it there," Samsung now does the whole job under one roof.
What happens with the freed-up space?
Line 12 had a monthly capacity of roughly 100,000 2D NAND wafers before conversion. Shutting that output freed physical floor space.
Samsung also plans to relocate back-end equipment scattered across Hwaseong Campus 2 and Cheonan into Campus 1, using the cleared space to add more production lines.
This reflects a broader geographic consolidation — not a simple expansion, but a regrouping of dispersed assets into a single core campus to raise output density per site.
What does a 15% capacity bump really mean?
Industry sources expect Samsung's commodity DRAM capacity to rise roughly 15% by end-2026.
This means → the added output comes from reallocating existing facilities, not from commissioning a brand-new fab — a far lighter capital-expenditure burden.
Whether Samsung hits that year-end target on schedule will be the key proof point for the real-world payoff of this consolidation round.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.