SK Hynix

Beginning

Hyundai Electronics

Hyundai Electronics was founded in 1983 by Chung Ju-yung, the founder of Hyundai Group. In the early 1980s, Chung recognized the growing importance of electronics in the automobile industry, one of Hyundai's primary business areas. He saw the potential for Hyundai to expand beyond its core operations in automobiles, shipbuilding, and heavy industries and wanted to establish a presence in the promising electronics industry. The company's primary focus was on semiconductor production and industrial electronics.

Hyundai had to pay a very high entry price to set up an efficient production system and to stabilize the yield rate compared to its rival Samsung, who at least had prior experience in semiconductor manufacturing. Hyundai's decision to produce SRAMs was later proven to be a mistake, as the technological sophistication of SRAMs made it difficult for Hyundai to achieve a satisfactory yield rate. In 1985, Hyundai altered its strategy for DRAM manufacturing by subcontracting from foreign firms and importing their chip designs, as it had lost time developing its own chips. Hyundai's DRAM chip, produced by importing Vitelic Corporation's design and technology, again failed in mass production due to a low yield rate.

Hyundai's approach to manufacturing memory chips as a foundry for foreign firms under OEM agreements was successful. The OEM agreements between General Instruments and Texas Instruments were helpful to Hyundai, which was facing technological and financial difficulties. By 1992, Hyundai had become the world's ninth DRAM manufacturer, and by 1995, it ranked among the world's top 20 semiconductor manufacturing companies. In 1996, Hyundai acquired Maxtor, a U.S.-based disk-drive manufacturer.[8][9]

LG Semicon

GoldStar, which later became LG Electronics, entered the semiconductor business by acquiring a small company from Taihan Electric Wire in 1979. The company was subsequently renamed GoldStar Semiconductor. LG Semicon was established as Goldstar Electron in 1983 by merging the semiconductor operations of Goldstar Electronics and Goldstar Semiconductors. In 1990, Goldstar Electron commenced operations at Cheongju Plant I, followed by the completion of Cheongju Plant II in 1994. The company underwent a name change to LG Semicon in 1995. LG Semicon operated from three sites, including Seoul, Cheongju, and Gumi.[10][8]

Merger

During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean government initiated the restructuring of the nation's five major conglomerates, including their semiconductor businesses. Among five chaebols, Samsung, LG, and Hyundai were engaged in the semiconductor business. Samsung was exempt from the restructuring due to its competitive position in the global market. However, LG and Hyundai were pressured by the government to merge, as both companies faced significant losses during the semiconductor recession of early 1996. In 1998, Hyundai Electronics acquired LG Semicon for US$2.1 billion, positioning itself in direct competition with Micron Technology. Subsequently, LG Semicon was rebranded as Hyundai Semiconductor and later merged with Hyundai Electronics.[11][12][13]

Hynix

Although the South Korean government aimed to merge the two companies to alleviate the supply glut in the global market, competition in the semiconductor industry had intensified. Hyundai faced near collapse during the chip industry's downturn in 2001, when global memory chip prices dropped by 80 percent, resulting in a 5 trillion won annual loss for the company. Creditor banks, many of them under government control at the time, intervened to provide assistance.[14]

In 2001, Hyundai Electronics rebranded as Hynix Semiconductor, a portmanteau of "high" and "electronics".[15] Alongside this change, Hynix began selling or spinning off business units to recover from a cash squeeze.[16] Hynix separated several business units, including Hyundai Curitel, a mobile phone manufacturer;[17] Hyundai SysComm, a CDMA mobile communication chip maker;[18] Hyundai Autonet, a car navigation system producer;[19] ImageQuest, a flat panel display company;[20] and its TFT-LCD unit,[21] among others. The divestiture was part of a bailout plan requested by the major creditor, Korea Development Bank, to provide fresh funds to the insolvent semiconductor maker.[22]

In 2003, Hyundai Group affiliates, including Hyundai Merchant Marine, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Elevator, and Chung Mong-hun, the chairman of Hyundai Asan, consented to forfeit their voting rights and sell their stakes in Hynix.[23] Hynix was then formally spun-off from the Hyundai Group in August 2003.[24]

SK Hynix

The Hynix creditors, including Korea Exchange Bank, Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank and Korea Finance Corporation, attempted to sell its stake in Hynix several times but failed.[25][26][27] Korean companies such as Hyosung, Dongbu CNI, and former stakeholders, including Hyundai Heavy Industries and LG, were considered potential bidders but were either denied or withdrew from the bidding.[28] In July 2011, SK Telecom, the nation's largest telecommunication company, and STX Group officially entered the bid.[29] STX dropped its deal in September 2011, leaving SK Telecom as the sole bidder. In the end, SK acquired Hynix for US$3 billion in February 2012.[30][31][32] As Hynix was incorporated into SK Group, its name was changed to SK Hynix.[33]

In 2021, Hynix acquired Intel's NAND business for $9 billion, resulting in the establishment of Solidigm.[34][35][36]

On September 26, 2024, SK Hynix said it has begun mass production of 12-layer high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, the first in the world.[37][38] As of Q2 2025, SK Hynix controlled 38% of the global DRAM market.[39]

In March 2026, it was reported that SK Hynix had filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a potential listing on the New York Stock Exchange.[40]