South Korean chip manufacturing giant SK Hynix is considering breaking US restrictions related to the export of Huaji ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines in order to upgrade the technology level of its semiconductor plants in China, CNMO has learned. The move is seen as a sign that some South Korean chip companies are taking every approach at their disposal to upgrade manufacturing processes in their Chinese factories as the semiconductor market recovers and China's manufacturing capacity for high-performance semiconductors improves.

The Wuxi plant is SK Hynix's core production base, accounting for about 40 percent of the company's total DRAM production. Currently, the Wuxi plant is producing two older 10-nanometer DRAM models. It is not easy for SK Hynix to upgrade its Wuxi plant because the U.S. has unilaterally restricted the export of EUV lithography machines, which are necessary to make cutting-edge semiconductors, to China since 2019 to stop the rise of China's semiconductor industry.

Still, as the global semiconductor market enters a recovery phase, SK Hynix sees an urgent need for capacity expansion in high-performance chips and needs fourth-generation DRAM products at the 10-nanometerscale or higher to maintain its market share.