{"id":24406,"date":"2026-10-20T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=24406"},"modified":"2026-10-20T12:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T12:00:24","slug":"a-visit-to-samsungs-massive-new-semiconductor-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=24406","title":{"rendered":"A visit to Samsung\u2019s massive new semiconductor hub"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In front of the fourth fab, I meet Choi Hye-rin, a 35-year-old safety officer, as she wipes her forehead with a handkerchief. At dawn, she boarded one of the shuttle buses that ferry workers in from Songtan, an older, scrappier district. She oversees the safety of a crew responsible for building cable ducts. She writes reports, inspects equipment, and checks the chemicals the workers handle. She\u2019s one of hundreds of women working on site, many employed as spotters who walk ahead of heavy equipment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Safety is a big deal here. After lunch, construction picks right back up. Excavators move past rust-red steel structures rising high under tower cranes. Banners that hang from the highest girders read, \u201cEven if the work runs late, don\u2019t rush.\u201d A giant LED scoreboard announces the winners of a contest for writing a poem about safety. Helmets stickered with a pledge, \u201cI will not work if it\u2019s not safe,\u201d perch atop lockers. The finished fabs glisten from across the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Along with the cautionary messages, there\u2019s a sense of urgency in the air. Samsung predicts that demand for memory chips will continue to surge through 2028. And for years the company watched its domestic rival SK Hynix pull ahead in the global market for the high-bandwidth models that power Nvidia\u2019s AI accelerators. (Meanwhile, the Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC has dominated the foundry business, manufacturing chips that other companies design.) The Pyeongtaek build-out is Samsung\u2019s attempt to reclaim its lead on memory chips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the heat can be brutal and the work zones are crowded, Hye-rin has no plans to leave. \u201cThe rate here is higher than other construction sites, and the work is relatively easy,\u201d she says. She gets paid 140,000 won ($97) a day and expects the boom to keep her busy for some time: \u201cYou just keep coming back.\u201d