Home > Business > Tech

SK Group projected to surpass 120 trillion won in exports on HBM boom

Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 16:34 Updated: 25 Nov. 2025, 20:04

Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, delivers opening remarks at the Tokyo Forum 2025 held at Yasuda Auditorium at the University of Tokyo on Nov. 21. [NEWS1]

Buoyed by record semiconductor exports at SK hynix, SK Group is expected to post more than 120 trillion won ($81.5 billion) in exports in 2025, the first time the conglomerate will cross the mark.

SK Group said Tuesday that its combined exports in the first three quarters of this year came to 87.8 trillion won, up about 20 percent from 73.7 trillion won in the same period in 2024. If the trend continues through the fourth quarter, SK’s annual exports are forecast to easily surpass last year’s 102.5 trillion won.

At the center of the surge is SK hynix, riding on explosive demand for memory chips used in AI — including high bandwidth memory (HBM). In 2024, SK hynix accounted for 54 percent, or 55.2 trillion won, of the group’s total exports; as of the third quarter of 2025, that share had risen to 65 percent, or 56.7 trillion won.

Robust exports of high-value memory chips such as HBM are also having a direct impact on Korea’s overall exports. The country's total exports in the third quarter of this year reached $185 billion, the highest since related tracking began in 2010, according to a recent government announcement. Of that, exports of high-value memory semiconductors including HBM totaled $46.6 billion, leading the overall growth.

Corporate taxes paid by SK hynix in the first three quarters of this year came to 4.3 trillion won, about 45 times more than the 94 billion won it paid in the same period of 2024.

“By continuing to invest and create jobs in future growth businesses such as AI, semiconductors, energy and bio, we are contributing to the national economy,” an SK representative said. “We plan to invest 128 trillion won in Korea by 2028 and will continue to expand annual hiring of more than 8,000 people.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM SU-MIN [[email protected]]