Samsung Plans to Relocate Legacy Memory Backend Operations to Vietnam to Free Up HBM Capacity
Nashnova编辑部
Samsung Electronics is weighing a plan to shift some commodity DRAM and NAND packaging-and-testing work from South Korea to Vietnam, freeing up backend capacity at its Cheonan and Onyang plants for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) — the plan is still under discussion.
Why would Samsung move packaging to Vietnam?
The logic is straightforward: Vietnam takes over packaging and testing for commodity memory, so Korean plants can concentrate limited lines and equipment on HBM.
HBM — high-bandwidth memory built specifically for AI chips — is seeing surging demand, and Samsung's Korean backend is tilting toward it fast.
This means → Samsung's choice is not "whether to expand," but who gets the existing capacity — and the answer increasingly points to HBM.
How ready is the Vietnam facility?
Samsung is building a $1.5 billion semiconductor test plant in Thai Nguyen province, targeting operations by November 2027.
Planned peak annual capacity: 153.3 billion Gb of DRAM and 255.6 billion Gb of NAND flash — positioned squarely for legacy memory.
In Q1 2026, Samsung set up Samsung Vietnam Semiconductor (SVS) as a subsidiary and consolidated it into its financials. In plain terms = the Vietnam operation is no longer a future plan — it is a reporting entity on the books today.
How far along is Korea's HBM conversion?
As of July this year, Samsung has committed roughly ₩56 trillion to HBM-related facilities at Cheonan and Onyang combined.
Onyang is slated for five HBM production lines; Cheonan will add HBM equipment and modernize existing lines.
Cheonan was already near full load and is undergoing teardown-and-reinstall work. This means → short-term room at Cheonan is tight, making Onyang the primary vehicle for HBM expansion.
What does this signal for the market?
Offshoring legacy memory backend is the natural extension of Samsung's Korean capacity shifting from commodity memory to HBM.
This reflects a broader industry signal: AI-driven HBM demand has grown large enough to force a top-tier manufacturer to redraw its global capacity map.
The plan is not yet confirmed — whether Samsung commits, and at what scale and timeline, will be a key variable for tracking its HBM ramp-up pace.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.