In a major strategic move to address the escalating global demand for AI model training and inference workloads, SK Telecom has announced plans to construct a massive AI data center infrastructure network scaled up to 15GW. With high-performance computing now recognized as a core metric for national technology leadership, the project aims to establish South Korea as the premier AI infrastructure hub across Asia.
Capitalizing on the Global Compute Shortage
The ambitious gigawatt-scale expansion is positioned as a direct solution to severe international infrastructure constraints. According to market forecasts by global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, global data center demand is projected to scale at an annual rate of 19% to 22%. With development struggling to keep pace, the United States alone faces an estimated shortfall of roughly 15GW by 2030.
As a result, major global hyperscalers and technology enterprises are diversifying their physical infrastructure footprint outside of traditional domestic markets. South Korea has emerged as an exceptionally viable location for these international investments due to its market-leading position in manufacturing high-bandwidth memory (HBM), its robust and stable power grid supported by nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and its established operational experience running gigawatt-scale semiconductor fabrication facilities.
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A Phased Operational Rollout
The enterprise strategy outlines a regional distribution plan designed to balance grid demands and support local economies:
- Southeastern Cluster (Gyeongsang): Initiated by the ongoing development of a hyperscale facility in Ulsan, SKT will build a localized footprint exceeding 2GW to capture computing demand from international hyperscalers.
- Southwestern Cluster (Jeolla): An additional 1GW facility is planned for development in the southwest.
- Initial 5GW Phase: The phased activation of these domestic hubs is slated to begin in 2029, aggregate to 5GW, and progressively scale toward the ultimate 15GW target.
Site planning, energy allocation, and anchor-tenant procurement will be coordinated alongside national strategies for balanced regional growth and strategic utility distribution.
Synergizing SK Group’s Full-Stack Enterprise Power
The buildout of high-capacity AI data centers depends on three fundamental industrial pillars: cutting-edge semiconductor hardware, advanced energy management solutions, and specialized construction and operational experience.
SK Group will execute this initiative by combining the native strengths of its various corporate affiliates to form a full-stack AI ecosystem:
- Semiconductors: SK hynix will supply next-generation HBM, while Sapeon Korea delivers specialized AI processors.
- Liquid Cooling & Architecture: SK Enmove will supply advanced liquid immersion cooling fluids, complemented by SKC’s glass substrates and SK enterprises’ high-efficiency power distribution components.
- Energy Solutions: SK E&S and SK Ecoplant will implement stable carbon-neutral and high-efficiency power configurations utilizing liquefied natural gas (LNG), small modular reactors (SMRs), district heating systems, fuel cells, and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
- Construction & Operation: SK Ecoplant will head specialized data center construction, while SKT manages the underlying infrastructure architecture.
Launching the Gigawatt-Scale “AI Factory”
Beyond physical facilities, SKT plans to launch its first “AI Factory” in 2027, leveraging the NVIDIA DSX platform reference architecture. This full-stack operational architecture integrates software, hardware, and administrative systems optimized for processing heavy training, inference, and autonomous agentic workloads. SKT plans to expand this framework into a gigawatt-scale AI Cloud network designed to catalyze digital transformation for domestic and international enterprises.
The project represents a historic step forward in national connectivity, drawing structural parallels to South Korea’s previous transformative developmental initiatives such as the building of the Gyeongbu Expressway in 1968 and the rollout of nationwide high-speed broadband internet in 1998. By anchoring the development of this third wave of foundational infrastructure, SKT intends to lead the country into a new era of global artificial intelligence leadership.
