Samsung Ex-Chip Chief Warns Memory Prices to Fall in H2 2025

Samsung Executive Forecasts Memory Price Decline

Kye-hyun Kyung, permanent advisor to Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions Division and former president of Samsung's DS division, forecast on May 18 that memory chip prices will decline in the second half of next year. Speaking at the Korean Academy of Engineering (NAEK) 285th Forum in Seoul, Kyung attributed the price pressure to a surge in global memory production capacity. According to his remarks, global memory production capacity is expected to reach 600 million wafers per month in the second half of next year. Kyung stated that this supply-side surge will trigger a profound reversal of the semiconductor cycle by the first half of 2028 at the latest.

Production Capacity and Cycle Reversal Timeline

Kyung projected that global memory production capacity will surge to 600 million wafers per month in the second half of next year. He indicated that this supply increase will drive the semiconductor cycle reversal by the first half of 2028 at the latest.

Conditional Risk: Tech Giant Capex and Demand Contraction

Kyung identified a longer-term risk scenario contingent on technology companies' capital expenditure returns. If Amazon, Microsoft, and Google do not achieve expected returns on capital spending in the artificial intelligence sector and subsequently reduce investment scale, the outcome would extend beyond price declines. In this scenario, global demand for memory chips itself could face contraction after 2028.