Direct:
Two gas-room fires in twelve days at SK Hynix's Cheongju campus would draw attention anywhere. Both hit M15X, and that is what makes them matter. SK Hynix (000660.KS) reported the second on June 12, around 9:55 a.m., on the second floor of M15X. Sprinklers put it out in about ten minutes. Eight workers went to the hospital and roughly 4,000 were evacuated. It reportedly broke out while workers were handling fluorine and nitrogen in a gas cabinet. The June 1 fire hit a sixth-floor gas room connecting M15 and M15X, leaked hydrogen fluoride, sent seven to the hospital, and cleared 3,600 out.
M15X carries outsized weight in SK Hynix's roadmap. It is the roughly $15 billion fab the company built as its HBM and advanced-DRAM base. 1b DRAM went into commercial production there in February, and that node is the foundation for HBM4. Planned initial output is around 40,000 wafers a month in the back half of this year, scaling toward 80,000 in 2027, with 1c DRAM lines for HBM4E to follow. Few fabs matter more to the AI memory supply chain right now.
SK Hynix says production was unaffected both times, and that is plausible. The sprinklers contained both fires fast and the company reported no output hit. Still, two gas-handling incidents in under two weeks at the fab anchoring HBM4 raises real questions about safety at the site. SK Hynix's HBM is largely committed under long-term agreements with Nvidia (NVDA) and others, which leaves little buffer if an incident ever does stop a line.
For anyone watching DRAM pricing, this points the same direction. Capacity pointed at HBM is capacity not making commodity DRAM, and any genuine interruption at M15X tightens a market that is already tight.
Drafted with AI assistance against parallel reporting.
Sources:
- DigiTimes, “Second fire in less than two weeks disrupts SK Hynix's Cheongju chip campus” (June 12, 2026)
- Korea JoongAng Daily, fire at SK Hynix Cheongju plant, 8 hospitalized, ~4,000 evacuated (June 12, 2026)
- Tom's Hardware, toxic gas fire at SK Hynix Cheongju advanced memory plant (June 1, 2026)
- Seoul Economic Daily, Cheongju plant fire quickly extinguished, no production disruption (June 1, 2026)
- TrendForce, SK Hynix M15X HBM capacity and HBM4 ramp coverage (2026)
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