Hanmi Semiconductor is moving quickly to lock in production capacity for the booming AI chip market. The company announced it will buy an existing factory in Incheon and convert it into its biggest facility yet, Plant 8, targeting mass production by mid-2027.
Hanmi will acquire a 6,230 pyeong factory inside the Juan National Industrial Complex from Mercury and designate it as Plant 8, the largest site in its portfolio.
Total investment will reach 130 billion won, including a 56 billion won purchase price, with remodeling underway to enable mass production in the second quarter of 2027.
By purchasing an existing plant rather than building from scratch, Hanmi aims to shorten the timeline for adding critical production infrastructure.
What Plant 8 Will Make
Plant 8 will focus on advanced packaging tools essential for AI semiconductors. The line will produce HBM TC bonders and hybrid bonders, along with 2.5D packaging equipment and BOC·COB systems used in high-performance chip assembly.
These tools are central to stacking memory and logic chips for AI workloads, where throughput and precision directly affect supply.
Capacity Push Amid Global Shortage
Once Plant 8 joins the hybrid bonder factory at Plant 7, due in the first half of 2027, Hanmi’s total production footprint will expand to 34,318 pyeong.
That scale would give the company what it describes as the world’s largest production facilities for HBM TC bonders and hybrid bonders.
The move follows a 100 billion won investment in Plant 7 last year, underscoring a rapid ramp in capital spending to meet surging demand.
Big Fab Plans, Tight Equipment Supply
As AI chip demand climbs, global semiconductor makers are expanding fabs and advanced packaging lines, stretching lead times for HBM and AI system packaging equipment.
Micron is boosting HBM output after acquiring fabs from AUO and PSMC, and in July increased its U.S. investment plan to $250 billion.
TSMC plans to add 25 fabs in Taiwan over five years and has raised its Arizona commitment to $265 billion. Elon Musk’s “Terafab” in Austin is set to receive $119 billion and start operations in 2028, while Intel lifted this year’s capex guidance to $17–$18 billion. Amkor Technology and SK hynix are also expanding advanced packaging capacity in Arizona and Indiana.
Equipment sales are expected to keep pace. SEMI projected in July that global semiconductor equipment revenue will rise 23.2% in 2026 to $165.9 billion, then grow to $201.2 billion in 2027 and $229.5 billion in 2028.
Hanmi says the ability to deliver tools in line with customers’ fab schedules is a core competitive edge. A company official noted that investments in Plant 7 and the new Plant 8 are intended to preemptively secure capacity and stabilize supply as customers accelerate their own buildouts.
Source: Chosun Biz, “Hanmi Semiconductor buys Incheon site to build largest Plant 8 for AI gear,” Aug. 18, 2026.
