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Leading ICT Companies Join Forces
Emergence of a National AI Infrastructure Alliance
Focus on Whether Corporate Investments Will Follow
With Jeollanam-do successfully attracting the National AI Computing Center, a national strategic project, the landscape of future industries based on energy and data is expected to change significantly. This achievement is considered highly meaningful not only because it involves bringing in a single data center, but also because it secures a national-level digital infrastructure hub that will integrate AI semiconductors, cloud services, and large-scale AI industries.
On May 13, Jeonnam Province announced that a consortium led by Samsung SDS, which proposed Haenam Solaseado as the location for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s National AI Computing Center project, has been selected as the final participant.
This consortium also includes Naver Cloud, Kakao, Samsung Electronics, and KT. As a large group of Korea’s leading ICT companies are coming together, the project is now being seen as a de facto national AI infrastructure alliance.
Bird’s-eye view of the National AI Computing Center.
Photo by Jeonnam Province
The National AI Computing Center will serve as a core facility, aggregating the GPU resources needed for the development and operation of large-scale AI and providing these resources to the industrial, research, and public sectors.
The government plans to secure 15,000 GPUs by 2028 and 50,000 GPUs by 2030 in a phased approach. This is a mega-scale computing infrastructure project that is regarded as the core foundation of Korea’s AI competitiveness.
In particular, this selection is expected to have a broad impact as it aligns with Jeonnam’s “Solaseado Data Center Cluster” strategy. Solaseado, which offers abundant renewable energy, spacious sites, and a relatively stable power supply, is being recognized as the optimal location for the AI era.
Jeonnam Province is currently working on establishing a special purpose company (SPC) and carrying out detailed design, with plans to break ground in July and begin full-scale operations in the second half of 2028.
The economic ripple effects are also expected to be significant. The project’s total investment is expected to reach 2.4065 trillion won by 2030. Jeonnam Province anticipates induced production effects of 6.4 trillion won, added value creation of 1.5 trillion won, and the creation of approximately 19,500 jobs.
Above all, as the project raises the possibility of linkage with the Gwangju AI cluster, it is highly likely to serve as a starting point for building an AI industry belt in the Honam region.
If Gwangju takes the lead in AI demonstration and enterprise development and Jeonnam handles the large-scale computing and power infrastructure, there is a strong prospect for a full-fledged “Honam-style AI ecosystem.”
However, there are still considerable challenges ahead. The success of the project will depend on several key factors, including establishing power transmission and distribution infrastructure to stably meet massive electricity demand, securing skilled professionals, and achieving global competitiveness in data center operations.
Another critical point to watch will be whether the project can actually decentralize the Seoul metropolitan area-centric AI industry structure and continue to attract corporate investment.
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Kim Yungrok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, stated, “This will be the decisive catalyst for the creation of the Solaseado Data Center Cluster,” adding, “We will make Jeonnam the heart of Korea’s digital transformation.”
This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.
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