SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won announced today (the 29th) the group's domestic investment plans for artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, stating, "We are planning approximately 1,000 trillion won for AI data center projects and about 1,100 trillion won for semiconductor supply expansion projects."

During the National Report Meeting on the Three Mega Projects for South Korea's Great Leap Forward, held today at the Blue House and presided over by President Lee Jae-myung, Chairman Chey stated, "Over the next 10 years, SK will continue to execute domestic investments of more than 100 trillion won on average (annually)."

Chairman Chey explained, "We will build AI data centers on a large scale quickly to export intelligence rather than just products, and establish a domestic 'intelligence market'."

Chairman Chey revealed that SK Group, led by SK Telecom, plans to build AI data centers with a total capacity of 15GW (gigawatts).

The plan involves first building 5GW worth of centers in units of 0.5 to 1GW across the country (Phase 1), followed by the sequential expansion of 10GW capacity centers, taking into account factors such as power, land, and water supply (Phase 2).

To respond to the rapidly increasing demand for memory semiconductors driven by the surge in AI demand, the group will make large-scale investments in SK Hynix's semiconductor production lines to significantly accelerate the scheduled construction timelines and establish a new production base in the southwestern region.

Chairman Chey said, "SK Hynix has decided to move up the completion of the Yongin cluster, originally scheduled for 2045, by 12 years," adding, "We will accelerate investments of approximately 600 trillion won in Yongin for DRAM production expansion and about 100 trillion won in Cheongju for NAND production expansion."

He added, "There is a need to create new production bases to resolve the memory supply shortages that will continue thereafter," and "We will invest 400 trillion won to create a new cluster in the southwestern region, which is expected to meet all necessary requirements including large-scale land, power, water, and human resources."

(Photo: Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)