SK to Invest 140 Trillion Won in Yeongnam, Aiming to Build 'Asia's Largest AI Hub'

SK has unveiled a vision to invest 140 trillion won, making the Yeongnam region the starting point for building the largest artificial intelligence infrastructure hub in Asia.

SK Telecom disclosed the detailed investment plan for the Yeongnam region at the National Report Meeting on the Development Vision for Advanced Industries in the Yeongnam Region, held in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, today (July 3).

This plan is part of the "Three Major Mega Projects for Korea's Great Leap Forward," which aims to invest a total of 1 quadrillion won to establish AI data centers nationwide and create the largest AI infrastructure hub in Asia.

The Yeongnam region marks the beginning of this large-scale project.

SK has selected Ulsan as the site for its first gigawatt (GW)-class AI data center project and has begun construction on a 100-megawatt (MW) hyperscale AI data center, with the goal of commencing operations in the fourth quarter of next year.

Following this, the company plans to build an additional 900 MW of capacity.

Furthermore, SK plans to sequentially build additional AI data centers with a total capacity of over 1 GW in other parts of the Yeongnam region outside of Ulsan.

To achieve this, approximately 140 trillion won will be invested, including foreign capital, and potential sites for additional projects are currently being reviewed in consultation with relevant government ministries.

SK plans to begin phased operations of 5 GW-scale AI data centers starting in 2029, with a mid-to-long-term goal of expanding to 15 GW nationwide.

SK explained that the first phase of the goal—building 5 GW-scale AI data centers—is a massive project that goes beyond simple data center construction.

The scale requires approximately 750,000 pyeong (about 2.48 square kilometers) of land, 3 million graphics processing units (GPUs), 24 million high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, and an investment of approximately 350 trillion won.

Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, stated, "The core elements of AI data center infrastructure are semiconductors, energy solutions, and capabilities in data center construction and operation." He added, "SK not only possesses all of these capabilities but also has experience in building and operating AI data centers."

Ryu emphasized, "If the manufacturing industry capabilities of the Yeongnam region are combined with AI based on large-scale AI data centers, it will be able to grow into a hub that not only innovates productivity but also demonstrates and spreads manufacturing AI."

(Photo: Provided by the Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.